The NotSoSecret Life of Lily Evans
by gamegurl mirai
Summary: Lily Evans is your average 5th year student, who absolutely despises the popular James Potter.. But why is he suddenly being so nice to her now, when he used to pick on her so much before? IGNORE HOW STUPID THE FIRST 2 CHAPTERS ARE!
1. The Strangeness of Mr Potter

Hello, everyone! After doing some heavy book 5 re-reading, I got sudden inspiration for a HP fanfic. So, here it is. Reviews are much appreciated, as is CONSTRUCTIVE crit.

Please enjoy!

**CHAPTER REVISED ON 12/29.**

---------------------------------------------------------

The Not-So-Secret life of Lily Evans

Chapter one: The Strangeness of Mr. Potter

A girl stepped up to the wall between platforms 9 and 10, her hands tightly gripping the handle of her trolley. She turned to wave goodbye to her family. Her mother blew her a few kisses and her father waved back excitedly; her younger sister, however, scowled from where she stood, squashed between sappy parents.

"Have a great year at school, Lily!" Dad called.

"You'll be home for the holidays, won't you, dear?" Mum asked worriedly.

"Of course, Mum! I'll write to you often, okay? I'm going to be late! Goodbye!" Lily said, and pushed her cart through the wall before her mother could fuss more. Honestly, they went through this every year!

Lily Evans was a 15 year old girl, returning to Hogwarts and the magical world for her fifth year of studies. Yes, studies were this girl's pride and joy. She didn't care for boys, like all her friends did. Who needed boys? There were BOOKS out there that she hadn't even read yet!

She had spent most of her summer scourging the local library (a Muggle one, of course. She was a Muggle-born child.) and now she could read some wizard books for a change.

The part she didn't spend reading? Oh, she was sleeping, or being subject to torture by her sister Petunia and her girl-cousins. The torture? A MAKEOVER.

As soon as Lily's braces were removed from her teeth ("Thank goodness," Lily had sighed. "Those braces kept setting off the alarms at the library entrance!"), her cousins had come to visit for the summer holidays. They insisted she throw out her thick glasses in exchange for contact lenses, and that she take better care of her beautiful dark red hair. And the makeup? ("Well, what they don't know won't hurt them.." Lily said as she stuffed the eyeliner and mascara at the very bottom of her trunk while packing.) She had no intention of ever touching the stuff again. It was going into the wastebasket the moment she unpacked at Hogwarts.

Lily had also grown quite a bit during the summer. She needed all new robes and clothes for the school year as she had outgrown just about all her clothes. Not that she cared. Clothes are such materialistic things.. They're only for covering your body, for heaven's sake!

But Lily did like her changed appearance, despite how much she disliked Petunia. The two had never got along well, but for once Petunia set aside their differences so that her sister's appearance would be more.. decent. Lily was older now, and a few years ago, she would have protested to no end, but now she wanted to be noticed. Probably more than just a bookworm and an outstanding student.

Platform 9 and 3/4 was bustling with activity, as usual. Students were rushing to meet their friends and grab compartments and say goodbye to their parents, all before the train left. Lily didn't have very many friends. She only had one close friend at Hogwarts, Celina, a fellow 5 th year Gryffindor, and even so, she divided her time frequently between Lily and Sirius Black, another Gryffindor, who was practically her boyfriend. Sirius usually got the bigger half of Celina's time.

Lily sighed and pushed her cart down to the Hogwarts Express and began to unload her cart, by using the levitating charm to save her some much-needed energy. For reading, of course.

Just as she had followed her trunk into the train corridor, someone dived headlong under it, smashing into her shins. Losing her concentration, Lily's trunk fell heavily onto the boy with a great "THUD".

"Ooomph---" he muttered as it fell on him, the breath instantly pushed out of his lungs.

"Oh my goodness! Are you----"

"Nice catch, James," someone laughed. It was Sirius, who (although Lily would never admit it) was extremely good-looking with his long, dark hair that fringed his equally dark eyes. He was accompanied by the rest of his posse: Remus Lupin, a skinny boy with blue eyes and brown hair, and Peter Pettigrew, a shy boy short and small for his age, with mouse-like facial features..

Of course, Celina was there also, smirking as she held her precious black kitty, Apollo, very closely. Celina was a very pretty girl; she was tall, thin, had milk-pale skin, silver hair, and steely gray eyes. It was obvious why she and Sirius hung out together so much. She had a cool attitude most of the time, somewhat adventurous and bold. But even so, Celina was a kind person, and would be willing to talk with Lily for hours on end if she wanted to.

"Oh. It's YOU," Lily scoffed, regarding Mr. James Potter with a look of loathing. She despised him. Potter was SUCH a show-off. And he was extremely rude. He regularly pulled pranks with his friends upon people. People like Lily, who was a frequent victim. And why did he NEVER comb his hair? It was so untidy..

James pushed the trunk off him, holding up a ball proudly in the air. Thankfully, the trunk's contents did not spill onto the floor. Lily's precious books were in there!

He got up off the floor, rubbing his head.. or was it tousling his hair?

Lily rolled her eyes. "Maybe if you would stop showing off for once, Potter, you could see where you're going.." She grumpily straightened her trunk, trying to keep her long hair from getting in her eyes.

"Umm.. who are you?" James asked, turning his head and concentrating as if he were trying to remember something important.

"What, did my trunk hit your thick head so hard you received amnesia, now?" Lily replied coldly. "Honestly, Potter----"

"Lily?" asked Celina. "Is that you?"

"Last time I checked, yes," Lily replied, eyeing her friend suspiciously.

"OH MY GOD!" Celina exclaimed, rushing over. "You look so different! I love what you did with your hair!!"

"I didn't do ANYthing with---" Lily began, but was interrupted by loud train whistles. The Hogwarts Express was setting off.

"Oh! I'm supposed to be at the prefect's compartment!" Lupin said. "I hope no one noticed.. I'll catch you guys later!" he said hurriedly before rushing off

"Later, Remus," Sirius called after him. "The train's starting to move. We should get a compartment as well."

Celina dragged Lily along with her, much to her dismay. She did NOT want to be stuck in the same compartment as that pig-headed, pompous, egotistical----

"Lemme get your trunks for you," James said, fishing out his wand from his pocket.

Lily gaped at him, speechless. Was he really..? No. Watch, he's going to blow it up right here in front of every----

"Sit down, Lil. We have SO much to talk about!!" Celina said excitedly. They were inside the compartment already. Peter sat by the window, his mousy face gazing out the glass. Sirius sat opposite him, reserving the seat next to him for Celina. She sat in her designated seat and pulled Lily down on her other side, already chatting animatedly as she stroked her cat lovingly.

James had finished stacking Lily's trunks in the corner, with the owl perched in its cage on top, preening his feathers carefully. Potter sat next to Peter, which was just across from Lily..

"So, like I was saying, the whole trip to Egypt was SUCH a drag because of it.. and the JEWELRY was absolutely HORRID, too. Ugh," Celina droned. "So, how was your summer? You've changed quite a lot!"

"Horrible. Don't even ask. I had my braces taken off, finally. And mum made me get rid of my glasses. I have to wear these annoying contact lenses.."

"Contact lenses? What are those?" Celina asked, having come from a wizarding family.

"They're these things that go right onto your eye.." Lily began.

"You have to stick things in your eyes?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow. He and the others had been listening intently. "What for?"

Sighing, Lily had to explain. Peter and Sirius seemed grossed out by the end. James and Celina were fascinated.

"I think I'd prefer the glasses," Peter piped up. Sirius mimed someone accidentally poking their eye out and having to chase it down.

The conversing soon died out, along with the daylight as the sun sank in the passing hills. Sirius and Celina were currently engaged in flirting shamelessly with each other, while Peter snored in his corner by the window. Lily had already begun rereading _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 5_, while James tossed around the ball he had. Well, for a while anyway. He soon grew bored, and started watching Lily's book reading session.

"Having fun, Evans?"

"Hmm..? Sure, sure.." she replied distractedly.

"Learn anything exciting?"

"No..Of course not.."

James scoffed. "Are you listening, Evans?" he asked, leaning over and snapping his fingers a few times in front of her face, her nose pressed so perilously close to her book.

"What?" she asked, snapping her book shut and looking rather irritated.

"You'll mess up your eyes having that book so close to your face," James informed her, speaking very clearly this time.

"They're messed up already," Lily scoffed. "Go away."

James was bored again after a few minutes. He decided not to bother Lily further after she shot him a particularly nasty glare when he asked if she wanted to play wizard chess with him. One more look like that could have set the corner of his robes on fire..

"Hey, Padfoot! You wanna play?" James asked hopefully.

Sirius grinned. "Only if you wanna get creamed, Prongs."

"Bring it on!" James challenged him, whipping out his chess board. The pieces hurried to their respectful spaces on the board, shouting PG-rated insults at each other; James was white, Sirius was black. HAHA! Get it?! XD Ah, I kill myself..

What was this nonsense about Padfoot and Prongs? Did they have some sort of secret silverware society? Lily eyed them carefully over her book for a while, making sure no one noticed her. Sirius's bishop had kicked James's rook off the board. Celina cheered for Sirius and booed James at appropriate times, while Apollo regarded the moving pieces vigilantly through slit golden eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to watch, Evans?" Potter inquired, grinning.

Merlin! He saw her! "Er.. I have to.. erm.. study," Lily said feebly, hiding behind her book once more. Her face felt hot.. why was that? Maybe she WAS too close to the book..

"School hasn't even started!" Sirius exclaimed incredulously.

"But, it's OWL year---" Lily protested, snatching her book back from James's summoning spell.

"Oh, lighten up, Lily. Have some fun before the work begins," Celina said, nudging her arm playfully.

"Fine," Lily sighed. She couldn't get any reading done anyway, so maybe a little chess wouldn't hurt..

-----------------------------

Okay, first chapter was kinda long, sorry. I started typing this and didn't bother to break it into chapters then.. I couldn't break it sooner, really.

I mean, "Siriusly" ..

Don't ask.

Just review!

mwah!


	2. Wingarda Pegasus

Wow, two whole reviews on chapter one! XD thanks, guys! I love you!  
  
**lilyZWnam77**: I'm glad you like it! You like the complications ALREADY? Don't worry, there's gonna be a LOT more. Stick around, k?

**Sangrita**: Yes, you know I love you. Thanks for your bio for the new Potions character! I know you'll like her portrayance a lot. Hehe.  
  
ON TO CH. 2!  
  
Currently Untitled:  
  
Chapter 2: Wingarda Pegasus  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
A little while later..  
  
"No, Potter, you idiot! Move your queen there, and.." Lily whispered, pointing at a space on the board.  
  
"Oh.. Then, HA! Checkmate!" James stated loudly. "In your face, Padfoot!"  
  
"What?! Only cause you had help from the smartest girl at Hogwarts---" Sirius argued.  
  
"You're just JEALOUS cause I beat----"  
  
"Alright! Alright!" Celina shouted, waking the drooling Peter from his nap. "Now it's mine and Lily's turn."  
  
"You KNOW I'm gonna win, right?" Lily said to Celina, getting up from her seat to take Potter's.  
  
"Umm.. yeah, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?" she shrugged as she just sat down in Sirius's lap instead of waiting for him to get up. He was being awfully slow about it anyway.  
  
(Although Lily didn't notice, James was beginning to wish he had Sirius's intellect.) She cast Potter an odd look as he cursed under his breath.  
  
Each and every star could be seen clearly in the night sky through the bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall, but no one noticed. The awaiting of dishes, full of delicious foods, was far more interesting to boys and girls of starving bellies.  
  
Well, most of them.  
  
Anyway, the first years had just been finished sorting. Headmaster Dumbledore had stood and begun the start-of-term speech.  
  
"Caretaker Filch reminds you all that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes.. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. And now, I would like to welcome your new Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Deckard!"  
  
There was a polite applause from the students as the newest teacher, a tall, blond man in plain green robes stood up, smiling appreciatively. His nose was abnormally huge, and if it were red or bruised it would look as if he had lost a fist fight to a person who held the world record for the biggest knuckles. His dark eyes were half open in a lazy sort of manner, as if he were falling asleep or about to sneeze.  
  
He was a creepy sort of man. Lily shuddered at the thought of him teaching HER class. He didn't look like a competent teacher at all.  
  
She was definitely going to fail _that_ OWL test..  
  
"And also our new Potions teacher, Professor Caliban!"  
  
A pretty young woman stood up and bowed at the extremely loud applause she had received, mostly from the Slytherin table.  
  
"Oh, no.." Remus groaned. "It's _her_."  
  
"Who?" Celina asked, looking up at the teacher. She was very young, probably not even 20 yet, and not much taller than any 15 year-old, but she had stunningly shiny long, dark red hair the color of blood. She seemed to be basking in the applause.  
  
"That creepy Slytherin girl.." Remus trailed off, looking very pale, as if the moon had just come out.  
  
"Blah blah blah. Now we may eat!" said the headmaster, clapping his hands. [Can you tell I'm a lazy person?] Immediately, the tables filled with colorful and fragrant dishes of food and flagons of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Finally," James sighed in relief, beginning to load his plate of food, disregarding the fact that he probably couldn't finish so much food in one sitting.  
  
"Honestly, it would be much nicer if gramps would let us _eat first_, before blabbering on and on.." Sirius grumbled, shooting a nasty look at Dumbledore. He usually liked the old guy; Sirius was just being cranky from an empty tummy, like little children who don't have their snack or a nap.  
  
Lily shook her head in disbelief, as she helped herself to some steak and potatoes, and began eating quietly as she half-listened to the other's conversation/evil plotting against Filch.  
  
She didn't eat much.. well, as much as everyone else was. Just enough for a normal meal was fine. Feeling slightly tired, Lily got up from the table.  
  
"Where are you going? Feast isn't over, yet," Celina protested.  
  
"Oh, well, I'm kinda tired. I thought I should go to bed," Lily replied, trying to suppress a yawn, but failing.  
  
"You might want to know the password, then," Remus suggested. "It's _Wingarda Pegasus_," he whispered, so nobody from another house could have overheard.  
  
"Right," Lily replied. "Bye."  
  
She set off out of the Great Hall absent-mindedly, her feet automatically taking her to the Gryffindor Tower by rote. She didn't get very far when someone caught up to her.  
  
"Hey, Evans," Potter said brightly, slowing down his pace a bit.  
  
Ugh. It was _him_. Lily scowled. "Goodbye, Potter," she smiled fakely. Maybe she could lose him if she walked faster..  
  
Curses! He was keeping up with her.  
  
"Why are you walking so fast?" he asked curiously.  
  
Lily bit her lip. "Like I said, I'm tired.. and it's dark, and.. what are you doing here anyway?"  
  
"I.. erm.. I ate too fast, and I didn't feel very good, so I thought I'd accompany you back to the common room."  
  
"Mmm hmm.."  
  
Liar.  
  
Lily began to mentally prepare herself for his first practical joke this year. What better time than now? She was alone in the corridors. No one was watching.  
  
But nothing came.  
  
What the heck?!  
  
Lily caught his eye in one of her steely glares. It was coming. She could see right through those.. oddly glittering eyes of his..  
  
"So, have a nice summer, Evans?"  
  
"No," she replied, not wanting to waste her breath further.  
  
James caught the sour tone in her voice and decided that sleepy people were cranky people.  
  
Lily thanked Merlin he didn't speak much after that. She was afraid she'd run out of cold, heartless responses.  
  
Ugh. Was she really being that mean?  
  
No. Potter deserves every bit of it, she thought, yawning again.  
  
Well, she _could_ try to be just a _tad_ nicer.  
  
......  
  
In the morning.  
  
"Early, are we? Well then ..password?" the Fat Lady asked, looking stunning as ever in her lovely pink dress. ;)  
  
"Er.. Umm.." Lily mumbled. Darnit! What was it.. something to do with giants..  
  
"Well?"  
  
"_Wingarda Pegasus_," Potter said.  
  
As soon as the door swung open, Lily rushed inside, not making eye contact at all with James.  
  
James watched her speedwalk up to her dorm. "Gee, you're welcome, Evans," he muttered.  
  
"Charming young lady, isn't she?" the Fat Lady asked, catching on the sarcasm.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Okay! Hope you liked! So far, that's all I've written But more is to come!  
  
My muse, my muse.. my muse is on FIRE! sings  
  
Press that nice review button to offer your suggestions and/or laughable flames. BWHAHAHA.  
  
Have a nice day, all!  
  
Much love,  
  
Bob-chan/ gamegurl mirai


	3. Teacher's Pet

Hello everyone! Thanks for the **AMAZING 14** (and still growing?!) **reviews**! I'm glad so many people enjoyed it enough to hit that pretty little button at the bottom. That means there are OTHER people reading this as well? Quiet people.. who don't review.. glare  
  
Hehe. J/k.  
  
I GOT A TITLE! Have you noticed? "The Not-So-Secret Life of Lily Evans". Well, it would be if the dashes didn't die a horrible, sudden, unforeseen death from the server. TT Thanks, though, Anonymous Reviewer **Cloe**, who offered some titles that helped me (in a strange, sort of roundabout way) find the current title.  
  
**BeCkY6**: There's kind of a "conflict" with the DA teacher.. but you'll just have to wait until CHAPTER 4 for that, when they have class with the dude. You WON'T like him. Believe me. James saving Lily from sexual harassment?! OMG, I was planning something like that. Except it's a lot more humorous and doesn't involve a creepy old guy.. You'll just have to wait until Hogwarts's _Valentines Day_ for that, though. But I know you'll love that scenario!!! So stay tuned, k?  
  
**Animalluvr75**: Yeah, I wasn't TOO satisfied with the first chapter either. But it WILL get better! I PROMISE! TT No, siriusly though, because I was SO rusty at writing when I started that. But I think I got the old talent back now after 3 CRAZY days of non-stop writing.  
  
**Yami**: I KNOW you're eagerly awaiting more chapters. You're like a hungry dog. XD mwhahaha.. hugs

**Sangrita**: I'm glad you liked the portrayance of your character! - i think i told you that already, though.. hehe.  
  
On to the show!  
  
The Not-So-Secret Life of Lily Evans  
  
Chapter 3- Teacher's Pet  
  
------------------------------------------------  
  
The schedules were handed out in the morning, and the Gryffindors headed out to their first class of the term: Double Potions.  
  
Remus didn't look too well.  
  
"What's wrong, Moony?" Sirius asked as the Gryffindor clan set off after breakfast. "You look kinda bummed."  
  
"What? Oh.. just tired, I guess," he lied.  
  
Lily was walking very fast again. The sooner potions was over, the sooner she could get to Arithmancy. Which was the ONLY class she had that she didn't share with Potter.  
  
Oh, WHY didn't she leave breakfast earlier? If only she could put down that stupid spell book..  
  
"What's the rush, Evans?"  
  
Brilliant. There he goes again.  
  
"What rush? It's just.. a nice day for speed walking. You should try it sometime!" she said through gritted teeth.  
  
"Geez.." Potter muttered quietly to Remus, "You try to be nice and you get shot down like an owl.." It wasn't quiet enough though. Lily heard his every word.  
  
What happened? Maybe he really did change over the summer. Yeah, people change.  
  
But POTTER? Come on! Mr. "Hey, Metal Mouth!" Potter?  
  
No. Never.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
"Good morning, class. Welcome to 5th year potions," said Professon Caliban. "My name is Creidwy Caliban," she continued, waving her unusually long wand at the board. Her name appeared there in neat, yet willowy, writing. "And I will be your teacher for the year. Before we begin, any questions?"  
  
No one really asked anything. Girls whispered to one another, while all the boys just stared. Not all of them at Professor Caliban; no, James was staring at the way the sunlight glimmered off Lily's hair in front of him..  
  
Sirius was watching the teacher intently. She had her hair up in a large bun, while her long crimson robe completely covered her feet. The sleeves were so long that he could only see her wand and the tips of long red fingernails. When she walked, it was as if she were gliding.  
  
Celina elbowed Sirius hard in the side.  
  
"Now, today we will be making a Calming Potion. The directions are on the board," she flicked her wand again. "You have until the end of class. Ask me if you are unsure of anything. Please begin."  
  
So, the class began, lighting their cauldrons and carefully reading the instructions on the board.  
  
"Professor, I don't understand that part in the second paragraph about stirring the mandragora juice. Do we use our wands or our stirring spoons, like before?" The girl next to Lily asked. It was Olivia Carson, another Gryffindor girl whom Lily shared a dorm with, but didn't talk to much outside of classes. She had very dark skin and hair, which she kept in tight braids, and Lily knew her to be the announcer for the Quidditch games.  
  
Professor Caliban quietly answered Olivia's question, and then walked around some more to supervise the students' progress.  
  
"Please don't come here, please don't come here," Lily heard Remus's praying from behind her.  
  
"Ah! Remus! How nice to see you again!" the teacher sang as she floated over to Remus's desk.  
  
Remus appeared as if he were wilting. "Er.. hello, p-professor.. I thought you graduated last year and were leaving the school.."  
  
Lily thought she also heard a soft ".._for good_.." after that sentence, but maybe it was just her potion hissing....  
  
Professor Caliban smiled, showing no indication that she heard those last two words. "No, I decided to try the wonderful, yet grossly underpaid, career of teaching—Oh, watch how much murtlap essence you're putting there, kid," she quickly corrected James.  
  
So this teacher was hardly older than most of the seventh years. She _must_ have gotten an Outstanding on her Potions OWL.  
  
Professor Caliban soon left to the other side of the room, to answer more questions.  
  
"What was that all about?" Peter asked Remus, catching on to something.  
  
"I believe our friend Moony is the new teacher's pet," Potter said, poking Remus with the tip of his wand.  
  
"You don't understand! I've _been_ the teacher's pet since before she was even a _teacher_!" Remus hissed angrily, swatting at Jame's wand.  
  
"Was she that Slytherin girl who pestered you constantly last year?" Sirius asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, not noticing that his potion was bubbling when it wasn't supposed to.  
  
Remus nodded. "And just when I thought I was rid of her-- Merlin! My potion turned red!" he cursed.  
  
"That's a brilliant job, Severus. You're nearly finished already!" the teacher exclaimed from the Slytherin side of the room. "You should be proud of yourself. Ten points to Slytherin!"  
  
"Yeah, brilliant, _Snivellus_," Potter repeated, just loud enough for Severus Snape to hear him. Snape's weak smile turned into a nasty scowl towards Potter and his friends.  
  
"Why don't we give him our congrats after class?" Sirius suggested.  
  
"Only if it doesn't involve a duel," Remus replied absently, stirring his potion. "You wouldn't want to wind up in detention on the first day---"  
  
"_Shut up, Remus_," James and Sirius said at the same time. Peter decided to stay out of it.  
  
"Lily!" Celina hissed from behind her. "Lily!"  
  
"Yes?" Lily asked, turning around.  
  
"Something went wrong with my potion, I don't think it's nearly dark enough.." Celina said worriedly, poking at her cauldron.  
  
"You didn't put enough powdered dragon bone, add a spoonful more," Lily instructed, after peering into Celina's cauldron.  
  
"You there, the girl talking, what's your name?" Professor Caliban demanded of Lily, suddenly appearing in front of her.  
  
Curses.. Now she was in trouble.  
  
"Lily, Lily Evans."  
  
"Ah, Lily. Lovely name. Helping other students, I see?" Professor asked, eyeing her suspiciously.  
  
"W-well, I was just--"  
  
"Good. Less mistakes for me to grade. 10 points for Gryffindor for making my job easier," she said, patting Lily on the head and gliding off again.  
  
As soon as Lily turned around, slightly in shock, James quickly dumped his remaining treeflower oil in his cauldron. "_Psst_! Evans!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"There's something wrong with my potion, too! Can you fix it for me?"  
  
"NO, I won't fix it _for_ you!" Lily glared, but then realized she was being horribly mean again as she saw the terribly hurt look on Potter's face. Fine, maybe this once.. "But I can _help_ you fix it.."  
  
Potter gave Sirius a low-five under the table, where Lily couldn't see. The face worked.  
  
A little while later, Lily was glad to see she had gotten Potter's potion to a dark, yet lightly foaming substance. She would have been furious to see that Potter had been watching _her_ the entire time instead of Lily's directions.  
  
"Thanks, Evans," Potter sang happily after she was finished.  
  
"You're welcome," Lily replied bluntly.  
  
"Really? Okay, I'll remember that next time," James grinned, making a mental note.  
  
Lily bit her lip.  
  
Curses.  
  
------------------------------------------  
  
You asked, so I gave you more!  
  
Hope you enjoyed! Cause I sure did. Writing this is insanely fun.. I'm addicted now.  
  
If YOU want YOUR review responded up at the top (or just the shameless plug.. XD) send a meaningful review! Sure, "I liked your story" is nice. (point point: **daemonstrueform** .. hehehehe, jk, Jeff.) It makes me happy. But reviews that are personal, are deeply touching, that address my vast beauty in poetry form, or are even greeting-card-like in humor make me jump for joy! (ESPECIALLY THAT THIRD TYPE!)  
  
I'm more likely to respond to reviews that catch my eye or make me want to answer someone's questions pertaining to the story. Yeah.  
  
So review away! -  
  
Have a nice day, everyone!  
  
3 Bob-chan, who recently got rid of the gamegurl mirai penname and used her art name instead.


	4. The Strangeness of Ms Evans

Hello, readers! Sorry this one took longer than I expected. But it's 9-10 pages in Word, so that means this chapter is HUGE! This is a chapter where Lily decides that James might not be that bad.. mwhaha. Hope you like.  
  
**Gluetastebad**: Nice penname! XD Yeah, I made Lily seem like an actual PERSON in this fic; she'll have lots of changing emotions and stuff.  
  
**KawaiiFryingPanChick**: it's okay. thanks for trying to write a meaningful review, though! DON'T STEAL MY PENNAME! Lol. I got it off my real name actually.. Bob is half my name. So I can never change it. Yes, go hug your cat today! :3 Fily and Hames.. hmmm.. I wonder who that is? Jk. I'll try; maybe if you could give me a situation or two for accidental kissing, I'll stick it in (with credit of course).  
  
**Holly-evans**: Plot? What's that? ..**OF COURSE THERE WILL BE A PLOT!!** You're looking at an AP English student here. I'm not stupid. I'm just not revealing the plot yet. You'll get it slowly, just like how the great J. K. Rowling does it. This is not a pointless Mary-Sue fic.  
  
**Storywritter10791**: Alright! I updated! Hehe..  
  
**lilyZWnam77**: You've almost got the right idea about Deckard. Except he's more mean and nasty than a slob. And the potions teacher? She's.. well, that's a character based COMPLETELY off my best friend Sangrita. See Alias Madame Butterfly as her penname in the review page. She adores Remus. 3  
  
**Wahooligan08**: Thank you, thank you! And see the rating on this fic? It will NEVER be rated R. I hope that answers your question. .  
  
**Katie**: Hehe. Glad you like it, as I've told you already. Thanks!  
  
**Sangrita**: Thanks for those chat sessions. They get my inspiration all fired up and keep me writing more and more each day. Yes, I know I rock. Hahahahah! Poor Remus. You should talk to lilyZWnam77. XD I think she thinks your character is scary.. hahahha..  
  
OKAY! Enjoy!

The NotSoSecret Life of Lily Evans  
  
Chapter 4: The Strangeness of Ms. Evans.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
Later that day, after lunch, the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws found a strange man in their Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Not that he only LOOKED strange, for he did. His lips were so thin it looked as if whoever created him cut him a slit for a mouth; quite scary, to say the least. But he was strange because no one really recognized him.  
  
Lily ignored him as she took a desk towards the middle of the room and placed her bag carefully on the floor next to her chair.  
  
Potter and his friends walked by at that time, taking the seats behind her. Lily scowled as Potter knocked her bag over as he walked by. He didn't seem to notice; he and his friends were laughing at some inside joke of theirs.  
  
"I think the Reductor curse worked quite well for the job, don't you think, Wormtail?"  
  
"Of course, Prongs! And that other one, the---"  
  
The bell drowned out the rest of his words.  
  
As soon as the bell rang, the man at the front flicked his wand at the door. It snapped shut, locking any tardy students out. And it did lock someone out; poor Matthew Jordan from Ravenclaw. He stood pounding at the door for a minute, looking in from the window, but ceased after the strange man sent Matthew away with a fierce glare.  
  
"Good afternoon, class," the man said. "Or, those of us who are on time, at least." He sent a thin smile towards the door before continuing his speech. No one dared laugh; the look on the teacher's face was too horrifying.  
  
"I am Professor Damian Deckard, your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I've received the same question many times before, today, so I think I'll answer before you ask as well..  
  
"I am a Metamorphmagus. I can change my appearance at will. ("Why would anyone WANT to look like that?" Sirius whispered to James.) You will often find my appearance changed frequently, but please do not let it bother you too much. ("No, it doesn't bother me at all; just children and small animals might run away in fear.." Remus replied quietly, for his friends' benefit.) Now, let's begin today's lesson: The Basics of Defense. What defines defense?"  
  
The Professor droned on about defense, like he said he would. He paused when Lily raised her hand to ask a question.  
  
"What is your name?"  
  
"Lily Evans, and I was wondering if we were going to practice spells often in this class, like we did in the past few years.. Or is this class focused more on academics than acitivities?"  
  
"Miss Evans, I believe the class will practice spells when I believe the class is competent enough to do so. If you interrupt me so rudely again during a lecture, we'll see whether you are fit to grace us with your presence in this classroom."  
  
Lily's jaw dropped as he turned around to continue his lecture and write on the board.  
  
RUDE?  
  
"Yeah, we'll see who's rude around here.."  
  
Spoken as if from Lily herself!  
  
Wait a minute.  
  
Who said.. er.. whispered that?!  
  
Lily cautiously looked around the room until she caught someone's eye.  
  
Potter?! Potter was defending her? Merlin, he must really hate this teacher..  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Before Lily knew it, September was over. Her classes had been running so quickly lately, with the exception of DA with the nasty Professor Deckard, that she hadn't really noticed. Even History of Magic went by faster than it did last year--  
  
Speaking of History, Potter still had her notes on the conflicts of giants and Muggles in the Dark Ages.. and that essay was due in two days! Lily wrote herself a mental note about getting that back from Potter soon.  
  
That chance came sooner than she expected.  
  
She caught James and his friends in the common room one day, talking quietly amongst themselves on the squashy couches, even though no one else was in the room. The setting sun was painting warm colors through the windows, the colors changing slowly along the walls.  
  
James was holding some length of odd, silvery fabric as he talked. When Lily walked in, he quickly shoved it behind a spare pillow, hoping she hadn't seen it already.  
  
Lily ignored his strange actions and cut to the chase. "Potter, do you still have my History notes? I kind of need them--"  
  
"Oh, right.. Lemme go get them real quick," James said quietly. He quickly went up to his dorm room and fished it out from his school bag, and then brought it down just as fast.  
  
Sirius and Peter were looking kind of shifty as they anxiously waited for James to return.  
  
"Thanks," Lily said, taking her notes from Potter. "So.. Are you guys.. going somewhere or something?" she asked curiously.  
  
Remus cast James a worried look; his face was a pale and sickly green, and he kept looking out the window for something.  
  
James sighed. "Actually, we were.. Moony--"he paused, looking at Remus quickly, "--I mean, Remus, he isn't feeling well; we think he has a fever. We're taking him to the hospital wing just to make sure."  
  
"Oh," Lily replied, yet still having her doubts. Why was Remus's face so pale? Wasn't he supposed to have a RED face if he had a fever?  
  
She tried not to make eye contact with any of them as they left, trying instead to keep her concentration on setting up a work area for her homework.  
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
Care of Magical Creatures was proving to be quite a worthwhile class lately. It was pleasant to have a change from the brute studying force of classes such as Arithmancy and History of Magic; Transfiguration and Potions weren't so easy either. In addition, CMC was a class that only required Lily to watch her fingers closely once in a while.  
  
Today they were studying water guardians in their natural habitat, so Professor Kettleburn marched the class into the Forest for the lesson. They stopped at a clearing by a large pond, which was surrounded by many flowering plants that thrived on its water.  
  
"This is one such habitat of Aquarilles, which are a type of water guardian. You can identify their habitats by, of course, water, and also an abundance of life surrounding it. Aquarilles provide much of the life- sustaining energy that water requires," Professor Kettleburn explained, pointing out things as he spoke with his 4-fingered hand. Many, many years ago his pinky had been lost to an unfortunate accident with a dragon.  
  
"Today you will be separating into pairs--"Professor Kettleburn began, and instantly some students began grouping up with their friends. "No, no, no.. Pairs of one boy and one girl each."  
  
There were several groans from the class. Sirius and Celina didn't seem to mind, however..  
  
"Aquarilles are heavily curious creatures. They're not shy about approaching people, especially when people are telling each other secrets and such. What's more curious than a boy and a girl together, eh?" Kettleburn laughed. He was a wise man.  
  
Lily rubbed her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on..  
  
Kettleburn gave out his instructions for the class, and sent the class away to scatter along the pond.  
  
"Hey, Evans, got a partner yet?" James asked, grinning hopefully and messing up his hair some.  
  
There was a huge throbbing pain in Lily's head now.  
  
"No," Lily said truthfully. "So where do you want to dig for pixies, Potter?"  
  
James led Lily to a section of pond that was crowded with water lilies and surrounded with bushes flowering rose-sized blue blossoms. Of course, it was located not too far from Sirius. Just within shouting distance.  
  
"How's this?" James asked, spreading his arms wide.  
  
"I don't know. We'll see how many Aquarilles we can get, and then I'll tell you how it is."  
  
"How do we get the little buggers to come out?"  
  
"I think we have to lure them out somehow.." Lily said, kneeling by the water. She peered into the pond water, seeing her own reflection gazing back at her between the floating lilies. Ah! Her hair was messy! She hastened to tap her head with her wand. The tangles quickly undid themselves. Much better.  
  
James eyed her suspiciously. "Now, what's fixing your hair going to do?"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and ignored his question. "Since Aquarilles are curious, if we do a bit of magic we can probably get them to come out," Lily suggested.  
  
"Alright. _Avis_!" James said, swishing his wand. A small flock of birds sprouted from his wand tip and began fluttering around, looking for trees to perch in.  
  
Lily sighed. This was going to be a long lesson.  
  
"What? What are you sighing about?"  
  
"Nothing. Do you see any pixies? I don't," Lily said, changing the subject. She sat down on the ground, looking around.  
  
"Maybe a different spell?" James suggested, sitting down next to her.  
  
"Mmm.. yeah.. let me think for a bit.."  
  
James sat idly for a minute, looking at the water for a minute. Then he noticed something. "Hey, Evans."  
  
"What?"  
  
He picked a water lily from the edge of the pond. "Here's a lily for you. Just like your name, right?" he asked, pulling the flower apart from its leaf and shaking the water off of it before presenting it to her.  
  
Lily took the flower carefully into her hands. "So.. what am I supposed to do with it?"  
  
"I dunno.. OH! Put it in your hair!" James said excitedly.  
  
"Okay," she replied, shrugging and attempting to stick it behind her ear. She got it in once, but then it fell off right away.  
  
"Here, let me help." James said, picking it up off the ground.  
  
It took him what seemed like ages to Lily. She couldn't tell what was taking him so long, but at least it would keep the flower in place. His soft hands brushed against her face a few times. As each second passed, Lily was becoming more and more aware of how close he was to her. She felt her face turn hot and red from it.  
  
"All done!" James said proudly, admiring his handy-work.  
  
"Thanks.." was all Lily could say. If she wanted to say more, she couldn't, because several Aquarilles had poked their heads out from the water, peering at her from among the water lilies.  
  
"You're welcome," James replied. "Hey! It's those water things!"  
  
"Finally," Lily said, studying the approaching ones closely.  
  
Aquarilles were pixies, so they bore human-like features. However, they also had semi-transparent green mermaid tails, with thin fins (running along the sides and at the end of the tail) that were barely even visible. Their skin glowed a pale blue color, while their tails shimmered and glittered. They were capable of exploring land as well, for they could swim through the air with their tails as if it were no different from water. Lily noted they were small enough to sleep on her palm if they wished.  
  
"We're supposed to study their behavior and write that information in a short essay, which will be due next class, and.. find out their source of food and include that in as well," Lily recalled from Kettleburn's instructions at the beginning of class. James wasn't paying attention.  
  
What a git.  
  
He was enjoying the attention he was receiving from the Aquarilles, who were hovering about him, muttering to each other in high pitched voices in their gibberish language. Some pointed at him, whispering as if they were talking about him. One was curiously studying his hands, flying between the splayed fingers and poking various sections of his palms.  
  
"Nosy, aren't they?" James said to Lily, regarding the one studying his hands.  
  
"Yes, a little.." Lily replied as a few started studying her too, especially interested in her red hair. They began flying around her head, some hiding in her hair and others picking up locks of it. "Ouch!"  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"One pulled my hair. Ow! There it goes again!" Lily winced, swatting at her head, still not catching the culprit. It was sniggering loudly at her futile attempts, little barks of laughter among the chatter of its kind. "Stop it!" she demanded frustratedly.  
  
Apparently, the Aquarilles were now trying to take up a collection of Lily's hair, trying to pull it out. Either that, or they were just trying to annoy her. The second reason seemed more likely to Lily.  
  
The few Aquarilles around James now decided to either join in the game of teasing Lily or just watching, munching on some nearby blossoms.  
  
"Get _off_, you little monsters!" Lily screeched. It was getting worse now. They were angry; they started prattling in harsh voices. Some even started to bite. "_Leave me alone_!!" But that seemed to have the opposite effect; more and more were coming closer, intent on doing just what Lily was demanding they not do.  
  
She was on her feet now, frantically trying to pull them away from her, but she couldn't catch any. They were too fast and kept slipping away from her fingers. How did there get to be so many of them? And why were they attacking her?!  
  
They were swarming over her like mosquitoes now; she could feel their sharp claws scraping her neck, their tails slapping her face, their fingers groping for her hair..  
  
"Evans!" James yelled, whipping out his wand. "_Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"_ he cast the same spell over and over, trying to knock out as many Aquarilles as he could. Most of them fell to the ground, unconscious, while the remaining ones that managed to dodge the spells dived into the water, squealing.  
  
Lily was trembling, her body shivering. _They were still on her. She could feel it. They were going to cover every inch of her skin, biting, scratching, and suffocating her as they stole the air away from her lungs.. .._  
  
"Oh my God, Evans.." James said tensely, pulling her hands away from her head, where they were scrabbling around, trying to get rid of the pixies that weren't there anymore. Lily was now crying silently, her mouth open but no sounds emerging except for that of her heavy breathing.  
  
Her eyes were unfocused, gazing at the ground through Jame's body, and she kept trying to pull her hands back up to her head, but James still held on to them. His hands were larger; they completely enveloped hers.  
  
"Evans? Lily? _Lily_?" he repeated, "It's alright now, they're gone. It's okay now.. _It's okay_."  
  
It's okay now? How could that be? Lily could still.. feel them, hovering around her.  
  
"They're.. gone?" Lily heard herself say. Her eyes were transfixed on James's now, her lips parted. His eyes were a mesmerizing dark brown. Had she ever noticed that before? Those eyes held so much light in them; she felt as if she could trust James with her life, just by gazing into them so..  
  
"Yeah, I stunned most of them," James said, relieved. "Are.. Are you alright now?" he ventured to ask.  
  
Lily gulped down her fears, trying to regain at least some composure while subduing all that adrenaline pumping in her veins. "Yes.. I just.. I panicked.." she admitted, sitting down on the ground and hugging her knees to her chest. She tried controlling her breath, taking slow, shuddering, deep breaths.  
  
"Panicked? What was that all about, anyway?" James asked curiously, sitting down next to her. "I mean, they were just pixies.."  
  
"I know, I know.." Lily said, shaking her head, swallowing again. "But.. it wasn't.." she hesistated for a moment before drawing a deep breath. "It wasn't about the pixies.. It was.. When I was really little, about 3, I guess, I was attacked by a flock of crows.."  
  
"Crows?" James raised an eyebrow. "Well.. go on!"  
  
"I was throwing them some breadcrumbs. But the wind kept blowing the crumbs into my hair and my clothes, and more and more birds just kept coming.. And Mum.. my Mum was in the kitchen, she didn't know until the last minute. They.. the crows swarmed over me and began ripping at my skin and suffocating me..  
  
"I remember I used the last of my air screaming until Mum came running with the biggest broom she could find. She told me later that I fell unconscious and woke up two days later in the hospital."  
  
"All that from crows?!" James said incredulously. "Well, I guess they ARE pretty scary when you're 3 years old.."  
  
"Yes, I know it sounds pretty stupid.. But I guess you wouldn't understand.. It didn't happen to you. Just.. Just don't tell anyone all this, okay? Please?"  
  
"Come on, Evans, I'm not _that_ shallow.."  
  
Lily frowned.  
  
"But don't worry. I won't tell. I swear," James promised, crossing his heart. "So.. I guess we failed the assignment?"  
  
"Only if Professor finds out what happened here.. which he won't," Lily said smugly.  
  
"Right. Of course. I'll just copy Sirius's homework.." James began plotting.  
  
"You can't! That's cheating!"  
  
"Only if Professor finds out.." James replied firmly, using Lily's words.  
  
"Ugh.. Well, maybe I'll let you get away with that just this once, Potter.."  
  
"Listen, Evans, you can call me James. And how come you aren't Prefect this year? I think you have just the perfect temperament to be one."  
  
"Well, _James_, Dumbledore thought the same thing, but I turned him down when he sent me the badge. Too much responsibility."  
  
"Not much more, because you act like a prefect anyway!" James teased. "Besides, Remus puts up with it, and he's got enough problems as it is. He says he's only doing it because it looks good on job applications, though."  
  
"It _does_?" Lily asked. Bugger! Why hadn't she thought of that?! "Well, James, since you insist so, I guess I will take up being a prefect.."  
  
Maybe she could exercise some control over him while she was at it. But.. why was James so keen on getting her to be a Prefect anyway? That seemed a bit strange to Lily..  
  
"Alright, then," James said. He looked around a bit, hearing the voices of other students walking by. "Is class over already?"  
  
"Guess so.."  
  
"Let's go, there's Padfoot.." James said, getting to his feet to join his best friend.  
  
"Hey Celina, did you get all the info we needed for that essay?" Lily asked as she joined Celina while their partners walked ahead.  
  
"Most of it," Celina shrugged, not really interested in the lesson. "..Though Sirius kept trying to catch all the pixies and putting them in his pocket.. It was getting quite irritating, really.. He wouldn't tell me what they were for, anyway.." She pointed ahead to Sirius, who was now showing James his catch. "See? There he goes, the show-off.."  
  
"I think they're plotting something already," Lily laughed. "I hope its against Deckard. I really do hate him.."  
  
"So. Did you have fun today?"  
  
Lily raised an eyebrow at her friend. Why the sudden question?  
  
"Hardly.. why do you ask?"  
  
"Oh, no reason.." Celina replied, turning her attention to the passing scenery. "You just look.. happy." She smiled knowingly at Lily.  
  
"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Lily demanded.  
  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say your mind was on James Potter rather than the lesson at hand."  
  
Lily stopped dead in her tracks. "Wh-wh-wh.. _what_?" she stammered, going red in the face. "I--_I wasn't_! How dare-- I barely _know _him, _he's_ the one trying to.. Oh, shut up," Lily stormed, her face a deep crimson.  
  
Celina did shut up, but in a satisfied sort of way. Knowing that Lily would now have James Potter on her mind through the rest of her lessons, Celina remained smug for the rest of the day.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Extra long chapter: COMPLETE!  
  
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.. Please send me a review! As always, suggestions are welcome!

Have a nice day!

Bob-chan


	5. Deer and Disasters

Hey everyone! I updated again, as you can tell.  
  
SOME Review responses:  
  
**KawaiiFryingPanChick**: hehehe.. I'll try. Those ARE pretty unbelievable though. DO come up with something better. Lol. Creative as they are, it'd be hard to work those in. For me, anyways. But sleepwalking could be worked into something else..  
  
**Wahooligan08**: He scares me too. But Caliban makes up for it, right? :) Yeah, my idea worked! You WERE supposed to feel sorry for her! Wow, I feel so accomplished. XD It doesn't take me 20 minutes! More like.. a few hours. Hehe. I'm a slow writer. I get sidetracked easily, and have to fish around to get more ideas. I tend to stop a lot, too. I cant write a chapter in one sitting. But I'm getting much faster now!  
  
**Alias Madame Butterfly**: Sangrita, you're too encouraging. XD Thanks for the compliment. Now if I learned more British slang and their weird spelling, then I'd be an exact copy, eh? (Except I'd be prettier.. :3) Happy you liked the fluff; stay tuned for more, love.  
  
**BeCkY6**: I'm glad you did! You have no idea about how many fights I got into with my cousin over possession of this laptop.. :]  
  
**Lindsay:** LINZ! Did you read all the chapters? xD No, there won't be pron here. Sorry. There are PLENTY of other fics for that stuff.. hahahah.. lub yoo!  
  
**Yoshiko**: Expect a new chapter NOW. :3 Yeah, I WAS planning a James POV chapter, actually, I just don't know when that would be. But that'd be a SUPER SPECIAL thing, seeing as this story is supposed to follow Lily's POV and life in the 5th year. (Hence the title..)  
  
**Theoneandonlystephy**: AHH! STICKY KEY PENNAME! xP So hard to type.. haha. Yes, I would do the same, if I were Lily. Wouldn't we all? :9  
  
**Brooklyn McFly**: I KNEW I forgot something! XDDDD lol, aren't Mary-Sue's great? I see quite a lot of those, and would LOVE to correctly point it out for the poor author, but I'm not THAT mean. It does sound tempting though. ..I await your fanart, Britt. AND YOU BETTER DRAW SOME, OR I'M GONNA BE MAD. :9 Make it a James/Lily pic.. hehehe. giggles  
  
Otay! All done! Enjoy! wants Coca-Cola..

The NotSoSecret Life of Lily Evans  
  
Chapter 5: Deer and Disasters  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Celina's words never left Lily's mind, although she acted as if she had forgotten them just minutes afterwards. Lily found herself zoning out often during classes, her attention elsewhere, only to be jolted into awareness by Professor Deckard zapping her with his wand. Today his ears were almost the entire length of his head, his earlobes dangling precariously near his mouth when he bent over.  
  
"If you fail to focus instead of _daydreaming_ once more, Miss Evans, then I'll give you plenty of time to practice your focusing in a week's worth of detention. Do I make myself clear?" His ears wobbled with each word spoken.  
  
Lily nodded feebly. Seconds later, when Deckard turned to the board, he was bitten viciously by a gang of renegade erasers and spent ten minutes of class time coughing up chalk dust. His appearance changed each time he sneezed. As she watched with extreme satisfaction, however masked by a fake, wide-eyed expression, Lily caught James's eye.  
  
He flashed a huge grin at her. "All right, Evans?" Lily was willing to bet that she saw him wink at her, and she probably would have won quite a large sum, too..  
  
"Y-yeah.. fine," Lily replied, feeling her face turn red as she said it. She saw Celina smiling at her as well, but her eyebrows were raised up in a look reminiscent of the one after Care of Magical Creatures the other day. Lily shot her a glare in return, which only caused Celina to smile wider. Frustrated that her glares were beginning to fail her, Lily turned back around sulkily.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Halloween was fast approaching. The decorations had already been put up: jack-o-lanterns in place of candles, spiders that leapt down upon students from their hiding places along the ceiling, armor suits that shouted "BOO!" as lonely students passed by. It was quite amusing to watch the first years' reactions.  
  
But Lily was worried about getting her homework done; she had been staying up quite late at night, studying for history, keeping up with her astronomy, and practicing charms in the common room and dormitory. She kept up these sessions for a while, along with cramming in the library on weekends, for so long that she hardly noticed that Halloween had arrived already.  
  
She had already spoken to McGonagall about becoming a prefect (due to James's suggestion) and found that the position was still open. So now Lily also had prefect duties on top of her studies, yet still she put up with it all, pushing herself harder and harder, knowing it would pay off in the end.  
  
The Halloween feast would provide some much-needed relaxation and nourishment. Lily joined Celina at the Gryffindor table for the feast, eager for the food to appear.  
  
But the table was unusually bare. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter weren't there to celebrate.  
  
"Celina? Aren't James and the others coming for the feast?" Lily asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Celina replied, twirling her hair around her finger lazily. "You know them; probably up to something. They like to disappear like that."  
  
Soon the food appeared; it was just as delicious as the start-of-term feast, as are all the Hogwarts feasts. Lily ate more than she ever thought she could; the pumpkin juice tasted exceptionally sweet, and the potatoes were steaming under all that butter..  
  
It made her sleepy shortly afterward, and feast wasn't near over yet. She tried to keep herself from yawning through the interesting conversation that Celina was having with the other Gryffindors.. Ha! It was so interesting, she couldn't really remember what it was about!  
  
"Lily, you look.. tired," Celina finally said observantly. "You should go to bed. You need the rest."  
  
"Okay!" Lily said, getting up quickly. And here she thought Celina would NEVER ask.. she didn't just want to GET UP suddenly.. it would look rude.  
  
She made it to Gryffindor tower as fast as she could walk, and raced up the dorm stairs. Huffing, she fell back on her bed.  
  
But now she didn't feel so sleepy anymore.  
  
Biting her lip, Lily sat up. No, it was probably all that exercise.. Maybe a little studying would make her sleepy again?  
  
Lily thought for a bit and decided to practice some wand movements. Yes. Wand movements are boring enough to make her sleepy!  
  
Swish, flick, jab.. Swish, jab, flick.. Flick, swish, jab..  
  
The window seemed so interesting now.. she was gazing out of it dreamily, still waving her wand around. It was conveniently placed by her bed. She caught all the nice breezes from her four-poster.  
  
Jab, flick, swish.. Flick, swish---  
  
Oops.  
  
Her wand went soaring out of the window with that last jab.  
  
Horrified, Lily dashed to the window to try to see where it would fall. Unfortunately, she had gotten up too fast, and now all the blood rushed out of her head and made her dizzy for a few moments. She gripped the window tightly, swaying.  
  
That wand was as good as gone, a voice in her head told her.  
  
Right.. she couldn't go down there anyway; it was dark and she would get into trouble..  
  
Lily's eyes suddenly widened in horror.  
  
Without her wand, she would fail her tests!  
  
Merlin.. now she HAD to retrieve it.  
  
Hoping she wouldn't get caught, Lily crept out of the tower. Then she realized sneaking around the castle was pointless; all the teachers were feasting with the rest of the school! And plus, if she DID get caught, she could use her prefect status to get her out of trouble, right?  
  
So she hoped.  
  
--------------------------  
  
"WHY didn't I see where it landed..?" Lily asked herself again for the tenth time, now feeling around blindly in the grass outside the Gryffindor Tower. Dark shadows cast themselves over the ground, most of them clouds blocking parts of the moon or the waving branches of the Whomping Willow not too far off. It was dark outside; she only had the light of the full moon, hanging so low it looked 3 times bigger than it usually did, and the blanket of stars, high above, to light her vision..  
  
Light! That was it!  
  
"_Lumos_!" Lily said, and about 20 feet away, a bright glow emitted from her wand. She frowned; she hadn't searched that area thoroughly enough. Sighing, Lily got up to retrieve it. "How long have I been out here, anyway?" she asked aloud, wiping her sweat-moistened brow with the sleeve of her robe. "The feast must be over by now." She stashed her wand in her pocket and turned to head back inside the castle, but abruptly stopped.  
  
A figure ahead was silhouetted in the moonlight; the stark contrast of black against the silver moonlight made the shape hard to distinguish. It looked like some kind of an animal.. and it was stepping closer and closer!  
  
Lily instantly pulled out her wand to defend herself. She knew the spells she needed to protect herself from this.. this..  
  
Deer? It walked on four legs like one.. Lily slowly put her wand back.  
  
It was a stag! Lily was sure of it now! The moonlight glistened off his sleek fur and majestic antlers, rippling as he stepped closer. He was much taller than she was, and the antlers made it seem more so.  
  
He was a beautiful creature.. Lily was hypnotized; he was holding his ears back as he leaned his head forward, exploring Lily's scent on the air. The stag stepped gingerly across the grass towards her, his eyes taking in the sight of Lily with pupils that weren't meant to be nocturnal. Those eyes held a vast amount of light in them.. they glittered so familiarly.  
  
Before she knew it, Lily was extending her hand out, stroking that magnificent head. The stag's fur was softer and smoother than anything she had ever touched before. Her hand gently ran the length of his muzzle, until the stag moved his head closer to hers. She felt his cold nose and warm breath on her cheek, sending shivers down her spine as she closed her eyes. His head moved from her face down to her neck, inhaling the smell of her hair. Lily's heart was racing, and those shivers of cold were turning into an ambiance of warmth.  
  
She opened her eyes again and found herself staring into those dark, shiny eyes.. eyes like pools of black ink that absorbed into the parchment of Lily's eyes, permanent and everlasting..  
  
A harsh howl rang through the silent air. The stag immediately turned towards the source, far off in the distance. He looked hesitantly back at Lily for a moment, and back at the forest, before dashing off.  
  
Lily watched his figure in astonishment for the few seconds it was visible before he disappeared in the night, her feet rooting to the ground.  
  
That stag.. it was almost as if he were human. Shouldn't he have been running AWAY from the howling instead of TOWARDS it? And what was a stag doing on Hogwarts grounds? The Forest was full of magical creatures, not normal ones..  
  
These thoughts ran through Lily's mind faster than the stag had run off in the darkness.  
  
A rush of cold wind blew past, bringing Lily back to reality. Shuddering, Lily made her way back to the common room, the echoes of howls reverberating in the night air behind her.  
  
Something strange was going on, but she didn't know what was..  
  
..Yet.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"Alright, class," Professor Caliban said at the beginning of one potions lesson. She laughed to herself. "I LOVE saying that.. Makes me feel like giving out detention for the fun of it.." she trailed off, muttering incomprehensible words for a moment.  
  
"Better be careful then, eh, Moony?" Sirius whispered, raising an eyebrow as he elbowed Remus.  
  
Remus sighed, putting his face into his hands.  
  
"Today, we will be.. er.. what was it?" Caliban said, shuffling through some papers at her desk. "Er.. that's right! We're making an Amnesia Draught. Last class's turned out so well. As you can tell, the results are still effective.." She then tapped the board with her wand, and the instructions for the draught appeared on the board. "Remember: while the draught is still cooking, it MUST NOT come in contact with skin. So do try not to stir it with your fingers. That means you, Mr. Potter," she warned, smirking. Professor continued giving out a few pointers for the process before letting the class proceed.  
  
Lily's mind was half-focused on stirring her cauldron as Professor ranted to some of the nearby Slytherins.  
  
"That Umbridge girl, I swear, she's tainting the noble name of the Slytherin house! Walking around as if she owns the place, she is. If I could, I'd hang the girl from the ceiling by her thumbs until she learned to wipe that nasty sneer off her face!!" Caliban said, not bothering to talk softer. Everyone could hear every word of her conversation, but the Professor didn't seem to care. "And her face! It wouldn't be hard to believe that her father is a TOAD or something!"  
  
"Bugger, Moony, you'd better not make Caliban angry at you.. She might kill you," James teased as the Slytherins howled in laughter across the room.  
  
Remus laughed weakly. "Oh, I learned that piece of information a long, long time ago.." he said cryptically.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked, trying to get his cauldron to stop fizzing.  
  
"Yeah, Remus. Enlighten us," Sirius insisted, putting the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully.  
  
Remus merely shook his head, refusing to speak further. Probably because Caliban was fast approaching. His hands began trembling slightly as he dumped powdered topaz into his cauldron.  
  
"Good morning, Remus. Are you feeling better today?" she asked concernedly, putting a delicate hand upon his forehead as if to check his temperature.  
  
"Y-yes. Yes. Much better, thanks," Remus replied, clearing his throat softly.  
  
Lily thought her ears were deceiving her. When was Remus sick? Sure, there was that one time in the common room at the end of September, but that was last month! Why was Remus sick so often, anyway?  
  
She put that matter aside; it wasn't any of her business. Maybe she'd get around to finding out, but not now. Remus was a little.. busy.. at the moment. His friends were snickering at him behind their cauldrons, anyway.  
  
"So glad to hear that!" she said, moving her hand up from his forehead to pat his head. "You might want to do something about all that topaz in there.." she warned, tucking her hands away into her long sleeves and floating off, leaving a quiet Remus to endure more teasing from his friends.  
  
As soon as Caliban had passed, humming a cheerful melody from an opera very familiar to Lily, Remus's cauldron had exploded, sending hot splatters of his draught in all directions.  
  
Since Lily was sitting at the table in front of Remus's, a copious amount flew straight at her chair, hitting her back and legs, and the hot liquid seeped instantly through her robes, burning like red embers.  
  
Lily shrieked as the pain hit her, jumping away from her chair. She had almost knocked over her cauldron in the process, but she didn't care; that drought BURNED. Tears were springing to her eyes as she tried to tear off her robes. She could barely stand.. the stuff was burning through the skin of her legs..  
  
It was sticking to her skin! Lily panicked. It was still very hot, and it wasn't even starting to cool like a normal liquid would after a few moments of such exposure. The burning was getting worse.  
  
"HOLY !!" Professor Caliban cursed loudly, taking in the scene of the explosion. "Everyone! Calm down! Remus, anyone else who's been burned: RUN STRAIGHT TO THE HOSPITAL WING. I'll be with you shortly," she said very quickly, pulling out her wand.  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
CLIFFHANGER! Bwhahaha. Review and you'll get the next chapter.. is holding chapter 6 ransom  
  
And while you're waiting for that next chapter, please go read "Nothing Short of a Miracle", a lovely James/Lily fic by Emo Weasley. It's a really good story; her few original characters blend seamlessly into the story, and she portrays the Marauders very nicely. And of course, her writing rocks so much more than mine does. SO GO READ IT! Her story deserves waaaaay more reviews than the few she has received. I know you guys will like it. :)  
  
Thanks everyone! Have a nice day!  
  
Much love,  
  
Bob-chan 


	6. The Brave Knight

Hello again! Here's another long chapter for you; I daresay you'll be cracking up more than once. Oh yes. It's quite funny, if i do say so myself.  
  
I do believe I've hit 50 reviews! Or..nearly. Thanks so much, everyone! You know who you are!  
  
**Lindsay**: there won't be pron! NO! XD  
  
**Hekate101**: Yeah, that WOULD be true.. Sirius as teachers pet! Bwhahaha!  
  
**Celebrimiel Hirilaure**: Thanks! You love my writing? Hehe. giggles Yes, do go on! ;)  
  
**Alias Madame Butterfly**: Oh, you'll find out that little piece of information someday.. when I think of it.  
  
**Theoneandonlystephy**: I LOOOOOVE cliffhangers. Only when I'm writing them, though. Hahaha! Sorry about condoozling you.. The lumos spell worked only because she was in close proximity to the wand; most spells don't really do that.. I used it because I think it worked for Harry in one of the books.  
  
**Becky6**: Thank you so much! I appreciate it! ;)  
  
**????:** Thank you, mysterious reviewer. I did write more. I hope you'll enjoy it so much you reveal your true identity! XD  
  
**KawaiiFryingPanChick**: NO! YOU CANT HAVE HIM! xB Just kidding. shares I'll try to think of scenarios too.. if I can!  
  
Let's goooooooooo.. on with the shooooooooooooow.. sings that Broadway song

The Not-So-Secret Life of Lily Evans  
  
Chapter 6: The Brave Knight  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
Lily's face was wet with both her tears and her sweat. The remnants of the potion were burning like acid. She could see the steam coming off her robes, fizzing on the floor, and knew that was just what was happening to her jeans and skin.  
  
"The potion won't stop burning until a certain spell is applied; Madam Pomfrey knows it. Get to the hospital wing as fast as possible, or it'll burn you to the bone," Professor Caliban said loudly as burned students began leaving.  
  
Remus's face and neck were burning so much, he needed Sirius, who had a burned hand, to guide him out of the room at a run.  
  
Lily began limping to the door; she could barely move! "P-Professor.." she cried, turning her head. But the professor didn't help her..  
  
James did.  
  
He was by her side before she had ever said anything at all!  
  
"Come on, Evans," he said, pulling her arm around his shoulder, supporting her out of the room. Lily noticed through her tears that he didn't seem to be burned; but then again, she couldn't see much anyway, so she wasn't sure. All she knew was that they were moving much too slowly; everyone else was all the way at the end of the corridor.  
  
"We can go faster if I carry you," James said hastily. He didn't wait for an answer, instead, he pulled Lily onto his back. "Hold on tightly!"  
  
Lily didn't need to be told twice. James was tall; if she fell off, she could break a hip. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her forehead buried in his disorderly hair; his arms guided her weak legs around his body, and he set his hands under her butt to support her up. In any other situation, Lily probably would have slapped him, but she thought better of it in this case. If he held her up by her legs, then the stuff would burn Lily worse, as well as himself.  
  
James set off at a run that only made Lily hold on tighter. She could feel his every breath escaping his lips as his long legs practically flew over the corridor's stone floor. His whole body sent off.. this very familiar smell.. It was very comforting; she unconsciously leaned closer to him, her cheek pressing into his warm neck, almost forgetting..  
  
That her skin was burning off her bones!!!  
  
Lily began wailing as they reached the flight of stairs. "James.. I can't.. f-feel my legs.." Lily stammered between steps, each with a throbbing pain in her back that accompanied it, causing her to gasp for breath.  
  
"Well, I can't feel my neck.." James replied morosely.  
  
"Sh.. Shutup!" Lily said, weakly punching James in the chest. James grinned at her and tried to run faster.  
  
"Calm down, Evans. Just breathe deeply... one.. two.. threeeee.."  
  
"I don't.. want to.. OWWWWWWWWW!!" Lily screeched. She could smell her burnt flesh now.. it was probably black, like the fire victims she saw on television, melted away to reveal blackened bone..  
  
"We're almost there.. PLEASE stop crying, okay?" James whined. He hated seeing girls cry. He hated it even more when they were shrieking in his ear at the same time. The doorway of the hospital wing was now visible; James dashed inside, finding his friends and classmates being nursed from the burns.  
  
Madam Pomfrey had just spelled the last of the potion off from Celina's cheeks. The burn still remained, but the potion was off.  
  
"One more patient for you, Madam Pomfrey!" James said, gently putting a still-crying Lily back down on the floor again. She gripped his arm tightly to keep from falling.  
  
Pomfrey sighed and tended to Lily. She waved her wand at the potion on Lily's back and legs. Lily felt the burning suddenly stop. Now there was just the intense throbbing sensation afterwards to deal with.  
  
"Alright, now--"Pomfrey began.  
  
"Wait!" James said suddenly, interrupting.  
  
"Yes, what is it, Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey said impatiently.  
  
"My arm," James replied, wincing. He held up the arm opposite to the one Lily was holding. There was a big splatter of Remus's potion on his forearm; it had already made a hole in his sleeve, now it was burning off his skin. Lily raised her eyebrows. She hadn't known that James was burned, also..  
  
Pomfrey hurriedly zapped the potion away, and continued what she was saying. "Mr. Lupin, Miss Evans, Miss Carson, and those others of you with large burns: Please come this way."  
  
She led Lily, Remus, Olivia, and a few other students to the beds off to the side of the hospital wing. Then each of the students were given their own beds, and they were instructed to draw the curtains around them and put on gowns or pajamas, depending on the nature of their burns. Lily was given a hospital gown because her back and legs were burned.  
  
Painfully, Lily changed and waited for Madam Pomfrey to come, lying on her stomach with her head at the foot of the bed. She didn't have to wait long, because she had already spent a lot of time trying to undress without causing herself too much pain in the process.  
  
"You're burned almost as badly as Remus.." Pomfrey tutted as she began unraveling great lengths of bandages out of the air with her wand. "The poor boy's face is hardly recognizable!"  
  
"Will.. he be alright?" Lily asked, horrified and yet soothed as the young nurse began applying some cold, creamy substance upon her back.  
  
"Of course, dear! This ointment will heal up all the burns, not leaving a single scar behind. You should be fine after a good night's sleep," she said brightly. "So, what exactly happened in your potions class that caused all this?"  
  
"Er.. I.. I can't remember, exactly.. I don't know why.." Lily replied, puzzled. What HAD happened, anyway?  
  
"I see.. it must have been an Amnesia Draught, then."  
  
Lily was amazed. Pomfrey really knew her stuff! More than she did, and she was involved in the accident, too..  
  
A few more minutes passed, and Pomfrey finally finished wrapping Lily's legs up. "There, all done."  
  
"Thanks," Lily replied, shifting positions a bit and grabbing the pillow at her feet to lay her head upon.  
  
"Can you do me a favor? Since you're one of the few whose hands weren't injured, can you put ointment and bandages on someone? I could use the help," Madam Pomfrey asked, covering Lily's back with a blanket.  
  
"Sure," Lily replied considerately. It was the least she could do; after all, didn't Pomfrey just heal her of her burns from.. some accident?  
  
"Thanks, sweetie," she smiled, opening the curtains a bit. "Mr. Potter! Come here, please!" she called.  
  
Oh no. Not Potter again. He was going to be cheeky at her now; Lily could feel it in her bones.  
  
"Done crying, Evans?" James asked, messing up his hair with his right hand, on the non-burned arm. Lily was right. She's ALWAYS right. James was an incredibly predictable person.  
  
"Yes. Done being a prat, James?" Lily replied in the same manner, minus the grin. She gestured for James to come closer so she could begin bandaging his arm from her spot on the bed.  
  
"No. Not yet," he replied. Lily glared and poked his injury with a merciless finger, causing him to yell a great "OWWW!"  
  
Lily grinned smugly as she squeezed ointment onto James's arm.  
  
"Geez.. is that any way to treat your rescuer?" James asked bitterly.  
  
"Rescuer?" Lily repeated, raising her eyebrows high in question.  
  
"Yeah, rescuer. Your knight in shining armor?" he said hopefully.  
  
Lily spread the ointment over his burn. "You are NOT my knight in shining armor."  
  
"Sure I am!" James insisted. "You were the damsel-in-distress, and I saved you from.. from crying yourself to death!"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Use your imagination, Lil!" James said cheerfully, the gears in his mind beginning to turn. Lily was secretly somewhat glad to see he was using his brain for once; it was probably rusty from long periods of not being used. "Right, so that would make Moony and his exploding cauldron the evil, hideous monster [Anyone note the irony here? :D] that loves to inflict carnage--"  
  
"I resent that!" Remus said hurtfully from the bed next to Lily, his voice muffled under the mummy-like bandages over his head.  
  
"--and Padfoot could be my noble steed since he has nothing better to do--"  
  
"Steed?! STEED?" Sirius fumed, almost knocking the ointment tube from Celina's hands.  
  
"--which leaves Wormtail as the evil henchman at Moony's disposal!" [YAY! MORE IRONY!] James finished animatedly. Peter cheered from his position on a chair nearby, one side of his pudgy face covered in bandages. James noticed Celina, sitting at the foot of Remus's bed, busily wrapping Sirius's hands in bandages. "And we can't forget Celina!"  
  
"We can't?" Celina asked, forlorn.  
  
"Celina can be.. the tavern wench!" he continued. [Sorry, no irony here. XD]  
  
"Goody.."  
  
"Yeah! The steed has a wench!" Sirius sang elatedly.  
  
"Hold still, steed," Celina said distractedly.  
  
"Yes, wench.." Sirius quietly obeyed.  
  
James was thoroughly excited from this story-developing escapade. Lily had to give him some credit for being so imaginative.  
  
Maybe James wasn't such a bad person. After all, he had to be somewhat interesting to come up with a story like that. Interesting or strange. Probably both.  
  
But he did carry her all the way to the hospital wing, when he could have saved himself a lot of pain by going by himself. He had gotten burned himself, but never even said anything about it, while Lily cried like a baby.  
  
Silently, Lily finished wrapping his bandage, tying it gently. "Finished, Mr. Knight," she stated, humoring James.  
  
"Now can you kiss it and make it better, my fair princess?" James asked hopefully.  
  
Lily cast him a sour look. "Don't push it."  
  
Honestly! The nerve! Since when was she HIS princess? She TRIES to be nice, and he's all over her like flies on honey--  
  
Wait a minute.  
  
Fair Princess? FAIR princess? As in, beautiful, attractive princess? Lily did not find herself at ALL attractive, let alone beautiful.. Or lately, anyway. She HAD been growing some lately, and maybe getting rid of the glasses did something..  
  
But still! That accident must have been pretty brutal. Since when did James Potter--  
  
No. Lily refused to think about it. She quickly pushed it out of her mind.  
  
"Will you kiss my boo-boos, wench?" Sirius asked optimistically.  
  
"Ha! As if I'd WANT ointment all over my lips.."  
  
"You have it on your face already, what difference does it make?"  
  
"Shut up, steed," Celina grumbled. She sighed and ran a hand through her silvery hair, leaning on Sirius's shoulder.  
  
Professor Caliban finally entered, gliding in like the ghost of doom. She looked far more composed now. She was a good actress.  
  
"I'm very sorry about what happened," she apologized, "even though the most.. unfortunate blowing up of Remus's cauldron was entirely HIS fault, not mine." She smiled at Remus, looking amused. "But I have taken the blame for it, sent a letter to the headmaster, and all those other boring things teachers have to do.. Therefore, all of you are excused from your classes for the day so that you may rest from your brutal injuries."  
  
Everyone cheered. Except Lily.. she was going to miss out on the new spell in Transfiguration! She groaned amid the cheers; no one heard her.  
  
"Do not celebrate too much. Your homework will be sent to you later today to make up for it; if Madam Pomfrey kicks you out for unruly behavior, then it's back to class, injuries or not. Do I make myself clear?" Professor Caliban said in a teacher-like way. Lily was reminded of Professor McGonagall for a fleeting moment.  
  
The students in the room all agreed. Of course. How could they not?  
  
"Very good. Farewell, and enjoy your day off," she said, bowing before she left.  
  
"Hey, Moony?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yeph?" came the subdued reply.  
  
"How does she.. float around like that?" Sirius asked in amazement.  
  
"What? Why are you asking ME that?" Moony questioned. He caught the look in Sirius's eye and sighed. He replied quickly before Sirius could say something to publicly humiliate him. "I have no idea."  
  
"Note to self: Find out why creepy, yet dangerously attractive, Potions teacher floats," Sirius noted.  
  
"SIRIUS!" Celina said furiously, clobbering him on the head with a fist.  
  
"So what do we do for the rest of the day?" Peter asked after a few moments of waiting.  
  
"Let's play a game!" Sirius exclaimed.  
  
"Sorry, Padfoot; we're not playing fetch with you," Remus said in a serious tone.  
  
Sirius looked heartbroken and began looking to Celina for some comfort.  
  
"Let's just take naps.." Lily yawned, laying her head down on her pillow. She needed the sleep. She had been staying up a little late for the past few days.  
  
"I second that!" Sirius said, stealing Remus's pillow.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"It's not for me; it's for Celina!" Sirius argued, handing the pillow lovingly to his girlfriend. She patted him on the head affectionately.  
  
Lily ignored their squabbles, feeling herself sinking deeper and deeper into sleep.  
  
She was shocked back to reality when someone peeked under her blanket.  
  
"POTTER!"  
  
"I was just checking to see if you were wearing clothes under-- AHHHHHH!" James screamed at the horror of an extremely angry Lily Evans. Quick as a flash, Lily had gotten her wand out from her nearby jeans pocket and began firing nearly lethal jinxes at him in rapid succession, while holding her blanket close to her body.  
  
_Later.._  
  
James hadn't escaped from Lily's wrath. As a result of his peeping exploit, James ended up with a pair of his very own breasts, "So he wouldn't have to stare at someone else's," Lily had explained ruthlessly.  
  
To add insult to injury, Lily cast an Incendio spell upon James.  
  
"No! NOT THE HAIR!" James had yelled, cornered.  
  
Consequently, Madam Pomfrey wasn't too happy.  
  
She sent a storming Lily back to her bed, while she had to put James back to normal. But even she could not stop herself from laughing along with the rest of the hospital wing.  
  
Sirius's lungs were burning for air. He had been rolling on the floor, laughing non-stop for the past 10 minutes in which Lily was hunting down James like a deer [THE IRONY IS BACK! ;D]. Everyone else was near the same state as he was; even Lily was laughing maniacally afterwards.  
  
There was just a poor, lonely James sniffing at a bed in the corner afterwards, looking regretful and humiliated. His ego had deflated quite a bit.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
Otay! All done!  
  
**Plug of the day:** Another Name for Azkaban, by Alias Madame Butterfly (aka Sangrita OR Professor Caliban.. :3), which is like fic-mates with mine. Her fic follows James and Lily after their graduation of Hogwarts, when Lily is engaged to none other than Mr. Potter. This fic makes me roll on the floor, laughing, much like Sirius did earlier today. YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED. Also, her fic is like a continuation of mine, with some of the same characters and scenarios. It's a wonderful blend. She needs more readers. Just note its rated **R** for suggestive themes and stuff.  
  
**IMPORTANT: I might not be able to update as much as I'd like to anymore; I'm leaving for vacation for all of July. I might be able to update a chapter or two before then, or even during vacation, but not much. I hope none of you will forget me? You can always email me here: gamegurl {at} teenagedirtbag {dot} com if you need your Bob-chan fix. XD**  
  
Thanks.  
  
Have a nice day!  
  
Much love,  
  
3 Bob-chan 


	7. Miss Dragon's Dinner Party

Hello readers!  
  
Thanks for all the positive reviews! Everyone keeps telling me to WRITE MORE WRITE MORE WRITE MORE. So I am. I've already formulated pieces of the next chapter in my mind, and you will LOVE it. :)  
  
Responses, as usual:  
  
**Yami**: You ARE like me! Shutup! I don't want to hear it; you are a great, wonderful, stupendous, fantastic writer and that is FINAL.  
  
**Wahooligan08**: Thanks! I do have other fanfics, but they all keep dying on me.. They're all old anyway. But you would like the one recent fanfic I finished writing but have yet to post the rest; it's a Teen Titans exploit on Grocery Shopping. Pure humor. It's gotten lots of laughs before. Also, Lily is.. 15. Yes. I think I wrote that in the first chapter? All fifth years are 15, too. Have you forgotten OotP already? OO  
  
**Snidgetglass**: Crows are evil, sinister creatures. Like squirrels.  
  
**Theoneandonlystephy**: Hillbillies are scary, too.. Well, glad it made you laugh that much! XD No problem explaining it to you; that's what I do.  
  
**Yosh:** Yeah, I sent you an email for YOUR response. It is ONE HUGE RESPONSE.. It's almost as scary as the squirrels..  
  
Alrighty: here's what you've been waiting for!

The Not-So-Secret Life of Lily Evans  
  
**Chapter 7: Miss Dragon's Dinner Party** [Don't ask; I ran out of ideas on this title.. XD]  
  
--------------------------------  
  
Lunch was a normal affair. Well, as normal as lunch in the hospital wing gets. Madam Pomfrey had conjured large amounts of sandwiches, cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, pumpkin juice, and butterbeer for the potion victims before she disappeared somewhere, and the students pigged out accordingly.  
  
Sirius was having quite a lot of fun. According to him, he couldn't hold anything properly with his burned hands and therefore had his wench feed him.  
  
Remus, on the other hand, was miserable. He could barely eat through all the bandages on his face, forced to take tiny nibbles at a time.  
  
James had abandoned the momentary plot of getting Lily to feed him, like Celina was doing to Sirius. He decided not to bother Lily further. Cowering in fear once a day was more than enough. It was like sugar. Enjoying the taste of it was one thing, but having to deal with tooth decay and major health problems was a horribly different story.  
  
If there was a thing WORSE than temporarily becoming an unwilling transvestite, Lily Evans could cause it to happen.  
  
So, for now, James was sitting on Remus's already crowded bed, far, far away from Lily's venomous looks and heartless jinxes.  
  
Back to Lily, the star of the show. She had already eaten 5 large sandwiches, 2 cauldron cakes, 3 pumpkin pasties, and was on to her third bottle of butterbeer. Recovering from burns made a patient quite hungry.. Sipping her butterbeer carefully (it was easy to spill things when you were forced to remain lying on your stomach), Lily observed Olivia Carson on the other bed next to her. She was waving goodbye to a tall boy with short dreadlocks. [Sound familiar..?]  
  
"Was that Matthew Jordan? From Ravenclaw?" Lily asked curiously, trying to get a conversation started. She had been getting kind of lonely.  
  
"Yes," Olivia replied shyly, shifting the bandages wrapped around her left shoulder. "My boyfriend. He left lunch early to come see me."  
  
"Oooh.. How nice! So how long have you two been together? I never knew you had a boyfriend."  
  
"Since this summer, actually.."  
  
The two continued talking for a while. Lily found Olivia an interesting person to talk to; she never knew why they didn't talk much before.. Maybe because Olivia had lots of friends from other houses, and Lily was often a loner when she was not with Celina. Also, Olivia didn't spend a lot of her free time in the library like Lily did. They just greeted each other in the mornings (as they were roommates) and then set off. That was it.  
  
Lily paused as she noticed Professor Caliban enter. As his friends also noticed, Remus was quickly assaulted by wide grins and mischievous looks.  
  
"Well! Professor!" Sirius greeted enthusiastically, his hands thrown up in mock-surprise. "What ARE you doing here?"  
  
"Good afternoon," Caliban bowed her scarlet-haired head, her long braid dangling perilously towards the floor. "I couldn't just let my precious students just ROT in here, even though it would save a lot of you from the wrath of your History tests.." she shrugged gently.  
  
"Hear, hear," James toasted a bottle of butterbeer high in the air.  
  
"I hope you are all enjoying your lunch?" Professor asked, a glint in her eye.  
  
"Of course!" one student replied loudly. Murmurs of agreement followed.  
  
"Yes, of course.. except for those of you who can hardly eat," Caliban added, crossing over to Remus's bed. "Off! All of you!" she shooed off the extraneous occupants of the bed and sat down at his side. Remus was secretly grateful for the extra legroom. His legs were sore and cramped from having his friends sit on and around them.  
  
Lily watched with wide eyes, the near-empty bottle of butterbeer frozen at her lips, as Caliban was unwrapping Remus's facial bandages. It didn't take her long to reveal the mummy that was Remus. His face and neck were completely covered in burns, except that they were already a light pink from rapidly healing. Pomfrey's ointment was already replacing the areas of missing flesh on his face. It wasn't pretty to look at, but it was surely an improvement from this morning.  
  
"Eat first, then I'll give you fresh bandages," Caliban ordered, gathering up the used bandages. She disposed of them with a wave of her wand, as Remus hurriedly wolfed down three sandwiches in less than half a minute. "Remus, slow down! You're making me sick." Professor Caliban rolled her eyes as she helped herself to a sip of butterbeer.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," Remus replied promptly, staring down at his empty hands.  
  
"Call me ma'am again, and you will die an agonizing death."  
  
Remus chose not to answer this time, instead deciding on a cauldron cake and some pumpkin juice. He didn't want the warming sensation of butterbeer inside; his whole body seemed feverish already and his cheeks felt unusually hot. Besides, the warmth from third degree burns was enough to last until December.  
  
Lily watched Sirius, James, and Peter snickering maliciously from behind Caliban's back. Remus was avoiding eye contact with any of them. His forehead was collecting beads of sweat and his hands were slightly trembling as he gulped down cup after cup of pumpkin juice. The poor boy looked so.. abused. Lily could tell; Petunia often subjected her to that kind of treatment, except that Petunia's actions held more hate than laughter.  
  
"All done? Alright, let's put some ointment back on.." Caliban began, squeezing out ointment onto her thin hands. As she began carefully spreading it on Remus's face, she spoke without pausing from the application. "Gentlemen, if you continue your snickering, I'll see to it that you each get two weeks of detention with Mr. Filch," she smiled, her eyes flicking to Remus's for a moment.  
  
The boys quickly turned their attentions to more interesting topics, such as the weather, which they discussed with great interest.. much, much farther away from the beds.  
  
Where was Madam Pomfrey, anyway? Shouldn't SHE be the ones taking care of injuries? Maybe she was off at a meeting with the headmaster or something.. Dismissing this thought, Lily continued to drink her butterbeer, trying to keep her eyes off her Professor. It was harder than she thought.  
  
Creidwy Caliban was a strange sort of person. She was vicious and fierce one moment, and the next she was serene and caring. It was unbelievable.. But Lily had evidence right in front of her: the tender way Caliban put bandages on Remus's face, taking care not to apply too much pressure that it caused pain to his burns; the kind way she smiled when near him, different from the superficial smiles she often wore to hide her thoughts.  
  
Caliban MUST have schizophrenia.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Lily awoke early one cold November Saturday, and pulled on a heavy red sweater and Gryffindor scarf along with her robes, as her roommates also awoke and dressed for the cold. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and as much as Lily wanted to stay indoors, she couldn't. She needed more information about Dark Spells and Incantations for her DA essay, and couldn't look up that information in the warm, cozy library. Those types of books were restricted. Therefore, today would be a perfect day to explore the bookstores in Hogsmeade for specifics on the topic.  
  
"Celina, would you like to go into Hogsmeade with me today?" Lily asked hopefully.  
  
"Actually, I'm supposed to go with Sirius. Said he had something he wanted to show me," Celina replied, digging around in her trunk for a pair of gloves. "You should come with us! I wouldn't want to leave you all alone.."  
  
"Oh, no. It's alright--"Lily began. She didn't want to intrude on the two; it would be horribly awkward.  
  
"Bugger! Where is it? Er.. No, come with us. Remus and Peter are coming, too," Celina added, reading Lily's expression clearly. "And.. of course, _James_."  
  
Lily stepped around the smug smile on her friend's face. "Well, I wanted to go to the bookstore.. a place like that would be bore for people like Sirius and James, wouldn't it?" Of course it would. Less-intelligent folk such as those two avoided places like bookstores at all costs. It might damage their reputation; or worse, they might actually READ something. The horror.  
  
"They'll just have to put up with it, then. Who knows, maybe they'll find more additions to their 'Miss Dragon's Dinner Party' Collection?" Celina laughed, referring to a popular series of children's books.  
  
Lily smiled back. So she wouldn't be alone today, and she could finally start that tedious essay.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
So much for starting that tedious essay.  
  
Celina and Lily had forced the boys to go to the bookstore first thing upon arriving in Hogsmeade, and, grumbling, they had obeyed.  
  
Everyone had split up, and Lily pored through every book that looked as if it would contain some decent information.  
  
She found nothing.  
  
And the looks she received from the sales clerk weren't very nice either. Apparently, books on Dark subjects had been banned recently, and Lily was going to have a close eye on her from now on.  
  
Looking frustrated, Lily rejoined the group, her lips pursed in irritation.  
  
"YOU look cheerful," James grinned.  
  
Lily ignored him. "They don't have ANYTHING on Dark magic at all!" she told Celina.  
  
"And.. what would you be wanting books like that for?" Sirius asked distrustfully.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. That's exactly what the sales clerk had asked her. "For that stupid essay for Deckard's class!"  
  
"Wow, you're actually DOING that essay?" James asked in amazement.  
  
"You know, James, most people actually do care about their grades," Remus said, putting a hand on James's shoulder.  
  
"What would you know about grades, Moony?" Sirius interrupted. "You merely show up to Potions, and Caliban gives you an 'O'!"  
  
James shook his head. "I really don't like that Deckard guy.. Have you noticed that no matter how hard he tries, he still can't get rid of his ugliness?" he pointed out, changing the subject.  
  
"One to scare the first years right to the hospital wing, he is!" Peter remarked.  
  
Lily couldn't help but laugh along. It was true, every word of it! One day his nose was roughly the size of a watermelon, and the next day his ears looked like as if he had stolen them off an elephant! [Did I use that phrase already?? Hmm..]  
  
"Hey! Look!" Sirius exclaimed, his attention drawn to a display of books nearby. "Books on werewolves!"  
  
As they were shuffling through the pages of it, laughing as they quoted pieces of the book to each other like Star Trek nerds reading lame fanfiction [lmao.. :-D], James inched closer to Lily.  
  
"So.. what kind of books were you looking for?"  
  
"You know, _The Aspects of Dark Magic, Sorcerers and Shadows_, those types of things.." Lily recalled from her memory. "They don't have them here at all, and if I don't get those books, I won't be able to finish my essay!"  
  
James raised his eyebrows. "Why don't you make up a load of.. _stuff_," he corrected his crude language just in time, "and act like you know what you're talking about? I do it all the time, and I get by just fine."  
  
"Well, I'm NOT you. I can't cheat like that. It's a horrible thing to do, and you shouldn't be doing that either," Lily admonished.  
  
"Yes, _Mother_," James sighed, rolling his eyes. "So what now? You fail the essay on inaccessible information that Deckard PLOTTED for us all to fail anyway!"  
  
Lily stared down at the ground. So. Her first failing grade. Her first FAILING grade. In anything! She had never failed any assignment before! Not even gym class, and Lily was about as physically coordinated in sports as a potato. What would she tell her parents now? And what torment would _Petunia_ plan for her now when she received the headline news?  
  
The world was a cruel place.  
  
"I guess you're right.. he would never give me access to the restricted section of the library anyway.."  
  
James's deep brown eyes lit up.  
  
"Restricted section?"  
  
"Well, yeah," Lily began, "The only place where I could get those books now is in the library at school, but they're all restricted and I need permission--"  
  
James held up a hand to silence her. "Say no more, Evans."  
  
"What.. why?"  
  
"You're looking at the right man for the job," James said self-importantly, messing up his hair in his signature fashion. Catching Lily's unimpressed look, he continued.  
  
"I can get you into the Restricted Section, easy. Are you free tonight?"  
  
Lily's heart nearly skipped a beat.  
  
"Yes," she answered without thinking. "Wait.. are you..? _What does a date have to do with my homework?!" _she hissed.  
  
"Everything," James said after a long pause. Lily did not like that enchanting smile on his face. Ohhh, no. Not one bit. "You. Me. A black, starry night.. An invisibility cloak in the darkness of the Restricted Section of the library. Catch my drift?" he whispered in her ear.  
  
Oh. THAT drift. For a second there..  
  
"B-but.." Lily stammered, her face still flushed from about 10 seconds before. "That's going to be breaking about--"  
  
"27 school rules, I know," James said, speaking with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a man who went blind from looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it, and now goes around schools speaking about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. [ROFL!!! See this: http: www. lothlorien. net/ kimber/Humor/analogies. html.. I got this list once in an email, and rang it up on a web search for YOUR benefit.. hehehe]  
  
ANYWAYS..  
  
"But always remember this: 'You're only in trouble if you get caught,'" James said, quoting Aladdin, which is entirely impossible due to the fact that Aladdin came out in theaters about 20 years after this fiction, but the author doesn't really care anyway.  
  
Lily pulled on her hair nervously. Fail, or break rules.. fail.. break rules..  
  
"James! I'm a PREFECT," she reminded him, perturbed. "I can't get caught sneaking out--"  
  
"Exactly. Get CAUGHT. Which you won't, due to my fail-safe resources."  
  
Lily sighed.  
  
She had better prepare herself.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN!!  
  
This chapter is specially short for suspense.  
  
I think.  
  
**On the next episode**: James. Lily. And a dark, starry night.  
  
biiiiig grin  
  
REVIEW! I need suggestions for suspenseful things to happen when they go to the library.. No kissing plots, though! I don't need any for the next chapter... x]  
  
**PS**- I think I could squeeze in chapter 8 before I leave for vacation on Monday night.. No guarantees, though. Sorry. TT You can still email me though; its always here: gamegurl {at} teenagedirtbag {dot} com.  
  
Have a nice day!  
  
Much love,  
  
3 Bob-chan 


	8. A Kiss Goodnight

Well, here's the update you wanted!  
  
I can't really respond to any reviewers at the moment. But thanks to all who reviewed! Theres over 70 now! AH! Almost to 100, guys! Also thanks for all your input, it has given me a lot of inspiration! I'll try to work them in if its possible. You're always welcome to send more and more as the story progresses!  
  
I don't know when the next update will come, but I'll brainstorm lots of things in my head, then spew it all quickly onto my flash drive. I'm changing locations frequently as I'm staying with my relatives. I have a HUGE family and I can't just stay in one house while I'm here, so that goes the same for a computer..  
  
Here's the chapter!

Chapter 8: A Kiss Goodnight (Oh ho ho ho.. :3)  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
Lily quietly waved goodnight to Celina before she crept out of the dormitory. At the bottom of the stairs, James was leaning casually against the railing as he held a silvery fabric close to his side.  
  
"I see you've dressed appropriately," James said, noticing that she was wearing dark colors for camouflage.  
  
Lily was about to mention having learned this from watching lots of action movies, but decided against it; James probably had no idea what a movie was. She merely shrugged as he guided her to the couch where his friends were sitting, playing Exploding Snap.  
  
For a second, Lily thought they were coming along as well.. But they weren't. James had taken a blank piece of parchment from Sirius.  
  
"You wanna watch our for Deckard; he's patrolling tonight," Remus reminded James as he carefully set a card on their steadily rising pyramid.  
  
"Right," James said, tucking the parchment into his pocket. "Mind your head, Evans," he pulled her close to his side as he waved the cloth open and pulled it over their heads. It was some type of cloak; that invisibility cloak James had mentioned earlier. Lily remembered having seen him with it before, on that one night. So that's what he was trying to hide, she thought.  
  
"We'll be seeing you," James told his friends.  
  
"We won't," Sirius replied, hoping desperately that this card wouldn't explode on him. "Don't stay out too late, kiddies.."  
  
They headed towards the portrait hole, exiting quietly. So far, so good.  
  
"Wait one second," James whispered, pausing after they had passed the Fat Lady. He pulled out his wand and that parchment, and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."  
  
Lily's eyes widened as she watched ink flourish all over the parchment. At the top was the writing "Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs present.. The Marauder's Map" and a large map appeared on the rest of the page. There were two dots sitting right outside the place marked the Gryffindor common room, labeled "Lily Evans" and "James Potter". There were no other dots anywhere nearby.  
  
"Y-you.. You MADE this?!" Lily asked, bewildered, remembering that the nicknames at the top were the ones James and his friends used. And here Lily thought they were all stupid prats; except Remus, of course. He was pretty intelligent for someone who hung around James, Sirius and Peter every day, and actually lived.  
  
"Yep," James said proudly. "All right, the coast is clear! Let's go."  
  
The two started down together towards the library, which was three floors down. Not one word was uttered between them for a while.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"..Sorry," James apologized. He stopped for Lily to recover while he checked the Map again.  
  
Lily took over cloak-holding duty while he examined the Map. It was a tough job. Lily's arms were growing tired; she had to stand on tiptoe to keep the cloak high enough to cover James. She was standing really close to him now; his smell invaded her lungs again. It was that familiar scent still.. Crisp earthy smells; the scent of fresh orange, just chopped mint, pine and the fresh open air of the woods and trees.. It was hard to describe, but it was very soothing. Lily felt as if she could stand this close to him all night, alone in the sixth floor corridor, and she wouldn't mind at all..  
  
She found herself watching the way his dark eyes soared over the Map.. he was focusing completely on searching for teachers; his intense concentration probably came from playing Seeker on the Quidditch team for so many years..  
  
"Deckard's on the fourth floor," James informed Lily, snapping her attention back to their plan. "We should be able to get in and out of the library quick enough."  
  
"Okay," Lily affirmed, putting the cloak back into Jame's hands. They went down the next set of stairs, and down yet another corridor, and the last staircase..  
  
Finally, the library.  
  
The library was eerily empty, yet the faces of books seemed to watching their every step in the darkness. No torches were lit; not a soul stirred.  
  
Lily shivered as they crept into the restricted section.  
  
James pulled off the invisibility cloak, ruffling his hair further in the process. "Alright, let's get crackin'," he whispered, looking around as he lit his wand.  
  
Lily didn't need to be told twice. She skimmed many books faster than she had ever done before, and began pulling out books that looked interesting. James helped her look, too, while keeping an eye on his Map and the doorway.  
  
"Dungeons, Dung beetles, Dew of Helms, Dawn Weed.." Lily read out, searching for Dark Magic as quickly as she could. Her heart was hammering against her ribs; every extra second spent here could lead to their capture.  
  
"Here's one: _Essence of Sorcery_," James held up a book.  
  
Lily nodded for him to keep it.  
  
In a few minutes, the two had managed to find 5 books of varying thickness, devoted completely to Dark Magic and its properties. Just by looking at some of the moving pictures inside, Lily could tell they belonged in the Restricted Section for good reason.  
  
"Let's go," Lily said quickly. She wanted to get out of the library as soon as possible.  
  
"Wait! We need to put the rest back, or it'll look suspicious.."  
  
Merlin! Of COURSE. How could she have forgotten?  
  
Fumbling, Lily managed to help James put the stray books back in their places.. or as close as they could remember.  
  
"That's the last of them," Lily said, gathering her books and muttering "_Nox_" to put her wand light out.  
  
Again, the cloak fell over their heads, and the two vanished underneath it.  
  
As they were heading towards the main part of the library, a hissing sound pierced the air.  
  
"What was that?" Lily gasped.  
  
"I don't-- _Mrs. Norris_!!" James said sharply, as angry meows followed them.  
  
Lily gulped. If Mrs. Norris knew they were there, then _that_ meant--  
  
Mrs. Norris's body flew a few feet, shrieking. James had turned around and kicked her when Lily's thoughts were rushing through her mind.  
  
"_Potter_!" Lily said, horrified.  
  
"Quiet. We have to get out of here NOW," he said, his voice barely audible as he pushed Lily along with him.  
  
She focused all her attention on keeping up with him now. James was fast. Lily's speed was no match for his, so she had better not slow herself down by talking.  
  
As soon as they had reached the door, it burst open, and an angry Filch stormed in, calling for Mrs. Norris.  
  
Lily had wheezed right as he entered, but luckily her sound blended in with Filch's voice perfectly. He hadn't noticed at all. James had also managed to pull Lily out of his way as he rushed past.  
  
They skulked out the doorway before it slammed shut. Lily blew a sigh of relief as they stood outside, still intact.. for now.  
  
James had decided to keep going instead of stopping to check the map again. They needed to get back to the tower fast, before any other teachers were alerted.  
  
Holding the cloak shut tight, they broke out at a run back down the corridor and up the stairs. At the top of that staircase, Lily had dropped a book. It fell to the ground with a loud thud, echoing in all directions.  
  
Lily quickly picked it back up, wincing.  
  
James shook his head and gave her a look as if to say, "Keep going!"  
  
Panting for air, Lily followed him closely, keeping a tighter grip on her books. They were starting up the stairs now, just one more set, and--  
  
A figure came down that same staircase, hurrying noisily and heaving for air worse than Lily was.  
  
Lily nearly screamed. It was Deckard, and his face looked more hideous now than it had that afternoon!  
  
Deckard stopped just as he was near them. He had heard Lily's breathing, but looked as if he were unsure and was just hearing things. He looked down the stairs, peering right through their bodies.  
  
James clamped a hand around Lily's mouth as he used his other arm to pull her close to his body along the railing. They waited, holding their breaths for despairingly long moments, as he glanced around many times. Lily's knuckles were white against their tight grip on her books.. She couldn't breathe, even if she wanted to. James had blocked her nose as well as her mouth in his firm grasp.  
  
Why was that buffoon taking so long? Lily's lungs were burning for air.. if only he would leave..  
  
After a few more seconds, Professor Deckard continued down the stairs as fast as he had begun. They didn't dare breathe until he was on the other end of the corridor, out of sight.  
  
When they did breathe, Lily felt much more appreciative of air than ever before.  
  
----  
  
Finally, the Common Room! Free at last! Free at last!  
  
And it was empty, too. Perfect.  
  
Lily sank down into the first couch she could find, heaving for air desperately but with a smile on her face. That had been fun. Scary beyond all reason, but fun nonetheless. And James did this regularly? Wow.  
  
James wiped his brow on the back of his hand, sitting down next to Lily and tossing his cloak on the other side of him. He was out of breath too, and wore the same expression.  
  
"I.. should be able.. to.. finish my essay now.. with no problem!" Lily told him, breathing between every few words she spoke in a weak voice.  
  
James laughed, wiping his Map clean with a tap of his wand and "Mischief Managed!"  
  
Lily tried to catch her breath a little before opening one of her books. She flipped through the pages, doing a quick scan of it before moving on to the next one.  
  
"I thought you were tired," James shook his head as he watched her hover over the book.  
  
Lily looked up at him for a moment. "I am.. I just.." she sighed, and closed the book. "Thanks for helping me out, James," she smiled, meeting his eyes. He looked pleased. "I can help you out with your essay, too, if you want.. in return for the favor?"  
  
"No, it's alright," he said politely, smiling back. He watched her for a moment with great interest as she reopened her book and began shifting through the pages again.  
  
A second later, Lily's book fell through her stiff hands, landing on the floor.  
  
Leaning over slowly, James had kissed her on the cheek before he had risen from his seat.  
  
"I already got my favor," he told her as he walked past, a thoughtful grin to be found on his face. "Goodnight, Lily."  
  
A bright red Lily sat alone in the common room for a while after that, her mouth gaping and her mind no longer focused on her essay.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
Ah, a short and sweet chapter. Suteki da ne? (10 points if you can translate that! XDDDD )  
  
Please review! kisses  
  
Have a nice day!  
  
Much love,  
  
3 Bob-chan 


	9. The Quidditch Captain

Thanks for being patient, readers! I had a fun vacation, although it was nastily humid in NJ. I'm glad to be back in California. The weather is much nicer here.. I hope all your summers are going well?

Thanks to **Becky6, theoneandonlystephy, mione-xavier, Book Lover990, Ani, fluffgirl, and iluvhp2noend**! Mwah!

**KawaiiFryingPanChick**: You're close.. hehe. It's from Final Fantasy X! Whoopee! You know FF number 12 is coming out next year? :3 **YAY** COOKIE!! Uhh.. Well, you remember that thing about cats having 9 lives, right?! XD (Is there a _MR_ Norris?? Hmm..)

**Wahooligan08**: Glad you liked.. Umm, if you're familiar with Japanese, they use -chan as a suffix for names. It means "little", and its typically used for children and girls (boys have -kun stuck on the end) Anyways, so my name would mean "little Bob". XD Bob is part of my real name, (explanation in my bio somewhere) so NO. I did not copy off Bob the builder or Jackie Chan ( -- That's not even his real name!!). My friends came up with Bob-chan and I tend to use it online since people have trouble remembering my real name, and it's also a pretty distinct nickname. How many other people share the same alias as me? Hope that explains.

**MWPP Fanatic**: Glad you liked the ending of that chapter so much! There will be more fluff, I assure you.. sometime later. XD heheh.

**Yami**: Thanks for.. loving me? Heheh! Wait! Who's this "we"? Are you using wrong pronouns or do you have friends you're not telling me about..?

**Rubber-ducky-lauren**: Thanks for reviewing, but it IS Matthew Jordan. Matt= Lee's father. (Hence the shared last name) I was hoping people would draw the connection from Olivia's announcing career and Matthew's last name.. TT I have my names right, I can assure you. Lee Jordan ONLY hangs out with my two of my FAVE characters for a living.

Bah. I need to pee.

**Chapter Nine- The Quidditch Captain**

****

She struggled to avoid her eye. But that Celina had the cold eyes of a hungry HAWK, man! Celina could spot deception in Lily as well as Petunia could spot dirt on a mirror.

"So.. anything interesting happen last night?" Celina asked Lily, sitting down on her four-poster to watch Lily attempt to sort through her bag to look as if she were busy.

Lily gulped. Celina probably knew. But there was the TINY CHANCE that she didn't.. Celina was just being cheeky, yes..

"Err.. what do you mean?" Lily shaped her mouth into something that resembled a smile. "I got my homework done with those books.."

"Forget the books! You bloody well know what I'm talking about," Celina retorted, crossing her arms. "You and Potter snogging in the common room! How come you didn't tell me? I thought you were my friend.." she sniffed.

Lily could see that hopeful little chance, blown up in 20 different kinds of dynamite, writhing in agony in the flames of failure and humiliation.

"Of course I'm your friend! And we were NOT snogging! Who told you that anyway?" Lily demanded, her face turning scarlet.

"You forget who my boyfriend is," Celina reminded, twirling her hair on the end of a finger. "James told Sirius, Sirius told me, along with the whole boy's dormitory.. Boys gossip as much as girls do, you know."

"They also exaggerate, the idiots.." Lily rolled her eyes. Brilliant. Now the whole SCHOOL knows.. she groaned. "Look, it wasn't MY fault. James just.. kissed me on the cheek and ran. That's all. I didn't WANT it! He probably did that on a dare or something.."

"You're COMPLAINING?" Celina interrupted incredulously, her mouth hanging open.

"What..? YES! Isn't that a violation of my 3 foot personal space---"

"Lily, Lily, Lily," Celina tutted, getting up and putting a gentle arm around Lily's shoulders. "Personal space violations are no matter here. This is a matter of.. well, teenage hormones."

Lily blinked. "What?"

"You see, I think yours are broken. Any NORMAL girl, if you have noticed, would KILL to be in your shoes. He's rich, popular, tall, handsome, athletic--"

".._brainless_.." Lily added.

Celina ignored her. "I know for a fact that every girl in Hogwarts adores him. Girls throw themselves at his feet just to be near him!"

"That's why he has such a big ego!" Lily stated in mock-realization. "Why don't YOU marry him then? Can I go?"

"Shut up, I already have Sirius. They're exactly the same if you ask me.. BUT we're talking about James here.. What was I saying?"

"That you need to let me go?" Lily asked hopefully.

"No. What I'm trying to say is, _James fancies you_, Lily."

A bell rang in Lily's head.

"Pardon? I think I'm hearing things.."

"You heard me!"

"Ha! Very funny, Celina! As if the great.. _James Potter.._ would _ever_ fancy someone like me! I think pigs would more likely _fly_.." Lily muttered, then remembered one thing: this was the wizarding world! For all Lily knew, pigs probably _did _fly..

"Why do you think he hangs around you all the time? And that kiss?"

"He's had a million girlfriends before! All of whom had either been dumped in two weeks (at most) or ended up at St Mungo's!"

Celina couldn't deny that fact. "Well.. Err.. but there's the kiss! You and I both know that if he was just looking for a new fling, he would have just all-out snogged you then and gotten all the fun over with."

Lily winced. Men were disgusting creatures. "So.. what am I supposed to do, then?!"

"Give him a chance, Lil," Celina smiled.

Lily shook her head furiously. "I don't think so.. I'm not going to be the one to suddenly.. _toss_ myself at him, just so he can use me and throw me away! People don't change like _that _just over one summer, and you know it, Celina!"

"You never know, Lily, people are interesting creatures," Celina said, sitting back down on her bed and stroking her patient cat, Apollo. The two studied Lily for a moment with their cold-colored eyes. It was unnerving, the way they stared as if they could see into Lily's mind and soul.

Right. James could have changed some. People change a lot as they grow, and what better time to change than the teenage years? Nature thought so, so maybe Lily could think the same. It didn't matter how bad James was in the past, because that's exactly what it was: The PAST. And obviously this matter of James wasn't going to vanish anytime soon, so Lily HAD to put the past behind her.

"Er.. I'll try," Lily replied, giving up. "But no guarantees!" she added stubbornly.

A smile spread across Celina's face. "Thanks."

------------------------------------

December the first arrived in a cold welcome. The snow fell heavily on Hogwarts castle, leaving a white playground for all the students. But alas, the massive snowball arena battle would have to wait a while for lunch break, as it was unfortunately a school day and not a weekend.

Lily sat down at the Gryffindor table, eager for a hot breakfast to conquer the cold in her stomach. But she would have to wait, as Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.

"I would like to announce a special event for this winter, one that many of you would look forward to," he stated, his blue eyes surverying all the students before him. He, as well as the other teachers, wore a smile on his face. So this would be a pleasant surprise.

"It is with great pleasure I announce that I have recently decided that this year there will be a Yule Ball."

Dumbledore paused to allow the excited murmurs to run through the tables, and after a moment he started speaking again.

"The ball is to take place on Christmas Evening at 8 o clock, and you are all required to wear dress robes to it. Keep in mind that for those of you who do not have their robes with them, you are welcome to use a school owl, or your own, to send home, or to go to Hogsmeade and purchase one from the abundant stores. Which brings me to my next point:

"The Ball is unfortunately not open to those below 4th year."

There were several loud groans of disappointment.

"But that does not mean that there won't be any fun for the younger students. All House Heads will be attending the ball, so that leaves all common rooms free." Dumbledore winked to a group of young Ravenclaws, who caught on quickly. Paaaaaah-tay!

"That is all. Continue with your breakfasts, if you may," Dumbledore finished, bowing his head before sitting down.

Lily sighed a breath of relief as the food appeared. Yay. Yule ball. Whoopee.

Everyone else, however, seemed to disagree.

"Oh my goodness! A ball! At Hogwarts! I can't wait!" Celina gushed to Sirius, who mimicked her in a falsetto, waving his hands around hyperactively. Irritated, she glared at him and then quickly turned to Lily. "Are you going to go, Lil?"

Lily nearly choked on her biscuit, coughing. James and Remus quickly poured a glass of orange juice for her, and she drained it just as fast. "Er.. No, I don't think so." Of course she wouldn't go. Why should she? Balls were dumb sort of things..

"Why not?" Peter asked, reading her mind.

"I'm.." Lily quickly searched her mind for an excuse. "Not a Ball sort of person, that's all." That's all?! Some excuse that was! Lily mentally chastised herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Celina rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Lily."

"Well, er.." Lily hastily began thinking of another excuse, her face red from embarrassment. "I don't have a dress robe!" she said triumphantly.

"Then we'll buy one from Hogsmeade on the weekend," Celina replied.

Curses. Lily bit her lip for a moment.

"I.. uh.. um.. I can't afford one.. they're far too expensive for my budget," Lily lied, feigning shame. She hoped Celina wouldn't remember that Lily's family wasn't poor at all. In fact, Lily's family was pretty well off. Her father was a doctor, and gave her a fat stack of pounds to exchange for Galleons before she left for Hogwarts last summer.

"I'll buy one for you," James offered, a mischievous grin on his face.

Argh! Thwarted again!

"Erm.. No.. No, it's all right. I don't want to go anyway," she told him, staring down at her plate. If she didn't make eye contact with him, maybe her face would stop turning so red..

Celina huffed, narrowing her eyes at Lily. "Oh well.. We've still a few more weeks left to convince you."

Ha! Lily would rather feed herself to a pack of wolves..

---------------------------------

Vampires.. vampires.. garlic!

"Aha!" Lily said, in a whispery sort of voice. She was in the library, researching the allergies of vampires.. She had been at this for many hours. It was Friday evening, and she had skipped dinner just to finish her essay early. Stacks of books covered her table, and she had just enough room for her parchment and ink on the remaining space in front of her.

She began scribbling a storm onto her roll of parchment. As she stopped to stretch, she was startled to find James sitting next to her, pushing a stack of books out of the way in order to place his hands together in front of him, business-like.

"Hiya, Lil-sey!" he greeted, using the new name he had recently taken to calling her.

"Hullo, James," Lily replied, resuming dipping her quill in fresh ink. Whatever was James doing in here? He usually avoided the library at all costs. She decided not to ask. Was bizarrely spelled with two Z's?

"Homework again?" he asked, twiddling his thumbs.

Lily merely nodded. Vampires seemed to be afraid of ginger, although not as intensely as they were of garlic..

"Er.. I was wondering if you were coming to the Quidditch match tomorrow. It's us versus Slytherin."

"Mmm hmm.."

"You usually never come to any of our matches, so I thought that you might come if someone.. personally invited you, especially the team Seeker and Captain, like myself.." he blabbed.

Lily wasn't really paying attention. She agreed to whatever it was James was saying without thinking.

"Great! I'll see you in the stands, then!" James said, standing up.

Wait. "What stands?" Lily asked, coming out of the daze that was her homework.

"Uhh.. Quidditch? The game tomorrow?" James replied, an eyebrow raised in puzzlement. The conversation quickly rushed back to Lily's mind.

"Oh. Right. I'll be there," Lily agreed finally. Homework WAS giving her a nasty pain in the neck. Some fresh air would be good for her. And besides, she did enjoy watching Quidditch. She just never went to many games before, despite the fact that the whole school went. Usually, it was too crowded, which meant that the library wouldn't be..

..

Since when was James Quidditch captain?!

---------------------------------------

Lily pulled her scarf snug around her neck. It was quite cozy in the Quidditch stands. Apart from the immense body heat of crowded students, the benches had a warming charm put on them, so no butts froze on what should have been icy wood (which is NOT a pleasant texture).

She waved to Olivia, who waved back as she was getting ready to announce the Slytherin team.

The Slytherin team looked extremely confident as they flew out on their brooms, each team member wearing a smug grin on their faces, as if they had viewed the outcome of the match on their crystal balls in divination or something.. It looked awfully fishy.

Next, the entrance of the Gryffindor team was greeted with many cheers. James seemed to have received the most, as he entered first as the Team Captain. So he wasn't lying, then. He really was Captain.

James looked as if he had been born and raised on a Quidditch field; it suited him completely and he looked his best up high in the air, with nothing but a broom keeping him from the hard-packed ground below. Even from the distance, Lily could see his eyes sparkling with excitement; his hair whipped in the wind; his head was held high as he smiled and pumped a fist in the air to the crowd. He made a huge point of waving to his friends, seated on both sides of Lily. She cheered back with them, although Sirius's mock-fangirl-catcalls probably drowned the rest of them out. Lily had to put her hands over her ears in order to protect her hearing.

Sirius received a slyly delivered one-finger salute from James.

Laughing, James waved to Remus and Peter, and also Celina. Then he caught Lily's eye.

He flicked his eyebrows up in a manner as if to ask, "So you decided to actually _come!_"

She winced, still not daring to take her hands off her ears. Lily didn't quite trust Sirius; she didn't want to take another risk of premature hearing loss.

Madam Hooch stepped out, trailing after her was the fancy box that held the Quidditch balls inside.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the match is about to begin!" Olivia announced over the mike, and the stands shook with anticipation.

James looked around the stands, about to take off to start the match, but before doing so, he cast a final glance at Lily. He blew her a kiss before gripping his broom and shooting up higher as the snitch was released.

Lily tried to hide her face, but regrettably her scarf wasn't thick enough.

And Celina had managed to see the whole thing.

This chapter was kinda pointless! ARGH!

Or wait.. maybe it wasn't.. no! it wasn't! cough cough

Er.. this chapter goes further in depth on Lily's feelings for James. Yes. And how she's going to be more open to him from now on. Feel free to make up your own interpretation there, folks!

And you can guess who's going to Yule ball together!! evil laugh But why would Lily ever GO to the ball in the first place? You'll just have to wait and see for what I have in store, and it aint pretty! (Or.. maybe it IS pretty. Hmm)

Book I can't escape: Memoirs of a Geisha. OMG I start school on Aug 25 and my art homework is due in the second week of September. I haven't done a SINGLE piece for it, and this book is interfereing! I can't put it downnnnn sobs

GO READ IT NOW! It's inspired me to finish my old Rurouni Kenshin fic. I last updated that exactly a YEAR ago.. --;; Geisha are so fascinating.. I wish I could be one.. wishes for pretty kimono and hair ornaments and laquered Samurai Jack sandals

I think something's wrong with me.. I have a stuffy nose before i go to sleep, and this morning when i woke up, my left eye was swollen.. And i have a Senior picture appt on Wed!! AHHHH! hides I think it may be allergies, since my brother developed allergic problems when he was my age.. But I sure hope not! Then I wont be able to tease my freinds anymore :'(

Ah, i'm rambling! Sorry! Please accept my humble apologies, and review if you forgive me.. XD


	10. Competitions

Ahh.. four months since I updated. Well, I'm glad I got inspiration over Winter Break. So here's the 11 pages of my labor, just for you!

WOAH! 95 reviews? That's almost 100!! Well, we'll see who gets number 100, eh?

No review responses today.. I have homework to do.. XD

So, without further delay:

The Not-So-Secret Life of Lily Evans

Chapter 10: Competitions

-------------------

The release of the quaffle was last, and the chasers pounced upon it like hungry cats. Lily didn't know many of the players on the teams, but the familiar faces of the Gryffindor team looked confident, just as the Slytherin team. A Slytherin chaser managed to get his hands on the Quaffle, but was soon hit by a Bludger, and he was nearly knocked off his broom. As a result, the Quaffle was snatched up by an eager Gryffindor Chaser. Lily cheered loudly with the rest of her house.

Meanwhile, James was prancing about the Slytherin goal on his broomstick, making faces at the Keeper let's call him John!.

"Why, Johnny! You're looking particularly nasty today," James commented jovially, pulling his mouth open wide and sticking his tongue out.

"Keep that up, Potter. Hopefully your face will stay like that," John sneered.

"No, I don't think I could ever manage to look as hideous as your mother, no matter how hard I tried," James replied, shaking his head in a self-pitying manner.

"Why, you---" John lunged forward in order to wring James by his neck, but as soon as James pulled away, John was stopped by the laughter and cheers of the Gryffindors. The Quaffle had been shot into the goals while he was completely distracted by James.

"That's ten points for Gryffindor as Julia Williams shoots past the distracted Keeper of the Slytherin team!" Olivia announced animatedly. "Thank you, James Potter!"

James eagerly accepted the applause from the crowd, while also dodging an angry John No-name. He finally shot upwards to begin Seeking.

----------------

"Lily," Celina called, her head peeking in from the dorm hallway, "You coming?"

"To what?" Lily asked, tearing her eyes away from her Charms book.

"You know, the usual Gryffindor Victory Party," Celina replied, turning her head slightly.

Realization formed in Lily's mind. Of course. There was always one of those every time their house team won a match. Usually it was louder when they defeated Slytherin, and today would be no exception. These Victory parties were thrown by none other than Sirius and James, who took winnings quite seriously, but money less seriously, and tossed around free butterbeers when their moods were especially elated.

"Alright, I'm coming," Lily said, marking her book. "I'll see you downstairs."

Celina smiled at her before going downstairs.

Lily stepped up to the dressing mirror for one quick look before heading downstairs as well. She brushed her hair quickly, set it up in a loose bun, and straightened her skirt, and then headed out the door.

She was greeted by laughter as her housemates roared at a joke she had missed. Probably about that Snape kid. It usually was. Quite a pity, if you ask Lily.

"Evans! I see you've decided to join us in our glorious celebration," Sirius called loudly, not bothering to make sure his Butterbeer didn't spill as he bowed ceremoniously.

Lily beamed back. "You'd think after winning so much, we'd get bored of it!"

Sirius laughed along with the rest of the partiers. "Does it look like we're bored, guys?" he asked the crowd, spreading his arms wide. They replied in the negative, with lots of cheers to emphasize their point.

James handed Lily a butterbeer as she sat down next to Celina on an already crowded couch. As she drank some of the warming drink, she noticed how happy everyone looked. Remus, especially, seemed to be enjoying himself, compared to a couple weeks ago. He was so unresponsive then, his face a sickly pale and his mind obviously focused on other matters. It was hard to tell that he was the same person.

It was as if tonight's good mood was contagious. And Lily couldn't disagree! She enjoyed herself immensely.

"So then the villager says, 'Bloody Hell!'," James said intensely, finishing up his most recent story, "'That's no werewolf! That's my wife!!'"

The students around the couch, able to hear his story over all the other noisemaking elsewhere in the room, all roared with laughter.

"Tell 'em about the garlic-lovin' vampire, Prongs!" Peter suggested loudly, nearly falling off his seat as Sirius attacked Remus with a pillow.

"Well, I can't if Sirius won't get his fat self off me!!" James scoffed, pushing Sirus roughly with his shoulder. Sirius was knocked over onto Lily's side of the couch, crushing Remus and Celina in one shot. Lily had expertly jumped off the side of the couch to avoid damage. She laughed triumphantly.

"You know, Sirius.." Remus breathed under the pressure, "You should try a diet sometime.."

"Kinda makes you pity poor Celina, eh?" James grinned at Remus.

Celina pushed an amused Sirius onto the ground. "Shutup, James, or..!"

"Oh? Or _what?_" James snapped back, mockingly. "You'll sick your cat on me?"

"NO! Or.. Er.." Celina thought for a moment. "Or you'll have to get your arse kicked in an arm-wrestling match!"

James raised his eyebrows. "Arm-wrestling?"

"Yeah! Arm-wrestling!" Celina repeated toughly.

"Alright. Let's go, right now!"

"Oh? So you agree to the conditions ?"

"Yes. To make the brawn even, you have to wrestle both me AND Lily." Celina crossed her arms. That girl was smart. Of course she would lose if she faced him alone.. Boys are naturally stronger than girls, especially at this age.. But WHY was she dragging Lily into this fight?

"Both? But that's--"

"What's the matter, Prongsey?? Afraid of getting beat on by a couple of GIRLS?" Sirius teased, poking James with the butt end of his empty butterbeer bottle.

James fluffed up his hair some. "N-no.. of course not! It's just that it's still 2 against--"

"Chicken! Chicken!" Peter jeered.

"Fine. Bring it on," James said, pulling up his sleeves.

"Come on, Lils," Celina said, clearing a nearby table.

"Okay," Lily agreed, pulling up her sleeves as well. This would be entertaining.

James sat down on one end of the small table, while Lily and Celina shared a seat on the other end.

"First things first: No one may use more than one hand," Celina began stating basic rules for the match as everyone else crowded around. "Second: It's best 2 out of 3. And third: Prepare to lose, Potter."

James merely smirked and held his right hand up for Celina to grab. Lily gripped her hand over Celina's, and waited.

"Ready.." Peter instructed. "Set.. GO!"

The mass of hands quivered in the air under pressure from both sides; James was hardly straining, though his face started to turn red a bit. He was intensely focused on winning, however.. his eyes stood focused on forcing his hand farther and farther..

"Come on, Lily!" Celina growled.

"I am!" Lily replied, pushing her hand towards their goal as far as she could. She had to beat James, no matter what..

Er..

THEY had to beat him. Right! She forgot about Celina for a moment..

BAM!

"Celina and Lily: 1. James: ZERO!" Peter announced.

"HAHAHAHA!" Celina laughed. "In your face!"

James narrowed his eyes, rubbing his pained hand. "Don't worry, there's still two more to go," he said coolly, although cranky at the fact that he lost that one. He extended his hand once more for Celina to take, which she did rather smugly.

"Ready.. GO!"

James pushed his hand down in a flash, taking advantage of the milliseconds before Celina and Lily even had a chance to start pushing their hands. This advantage cost them the match.

"Oooh.. looks like a tie!" Peter commentated.

"You cheater!" Lily protested. "You started too early!"

"I did not! You're just afraid of losing."

"So are you!"

"Actually, Lily, James is right," Remus interrupted, rolling his eyes as James immaturely stuck his tongue out at her. "Well, not about the losing part.. but, you two started just a tad too slow for his reflexes."

"Grr.." she fumed.

"We're down to the final battle.." Peter continued dramatically. "Who will win? Only time shall tell..

"Ready… set.. GO!"

As soon as the starting cue began, Celina screamed.

"OWW! My hand!!"

"What happened?"

"James squeezed it too hard, that's what! And something snapped under the pressure.."

"Sorry," James apologized sheepishly. "Guess I don't know my own strength.."

Celina narrowed her eyes at him, then turned to Lily. "I can't arm wrestle now! I think you're going to have to go on without me.."

"Drama Queen," Lily rolled her eyes.

"Lily!"

"Celina, there's no way I could---"

"Shh! Don't let HIM know that!"

Lily sighed. Now she was going to lose, and Celina's honor would be flushed down the drain, leaving Mr. Potter to gloat for the rest of the night.

And Lily would have to put up with it.

Unless…

"Hold on, I need to tie my shoe," Lily said quickly, ducking under the table. Before questions arose, she flipped out her wand and muttered a curse. ANY curse. Well, not ANY curse, but one to give her Herculean Strength! BWAHAHA! "Okay, ready!"

Lily smiled as she took Jame's hand in a firm grip. Wow. Were his hands always this warm? And did he use lotion or something, cause..? Wow. She stared breathlessly into Jame's shimmering hazel eyes. He looked smugly back at her. She grinned; he thought he was going to win?

"Ready to die, Potter? I mean.. er.. lose! Yeah.."

"Allow me to apologize in advance if I crush you with my masculine strength, little Lily," James ran a hand through his hair.

"There will be no more crushing tonight, Mr. Potter," came McGonagall's voice from the portrait-hole.

"Aw, crap.." Sirius muttered.

"It is one-twenty in the middle of the night, and tomorrow is a school day. I suggest you all go to sleep."

Moans and groans from the party-ers filled the room, and everyone else not important to the story here gathered their things to retreat to the dorms as McGonagall left.

Lily de-charmed herself when no one was looking.

"Too bad, Lils.. Guess you'll have to lose another day," James laughed.

"Whatever, James. Next time ANYONE makes a bet, make sure it doesn't involve strenuous physical exercise."

"Oh, but that sets an unfair advantage for Prongs and Padfoot.." Remus shook his head as he began climbing the dormitory stairs.

"Shutup, Moony," Sirius chucked a pillow towards him.

James crossed his arms. "Alright, I'll think of another.. 'competition' for us later, Evans. And we'll have to leave Celina out of it or she might break a nail."

"Yeah, you're lucky I can't break your face right now, Potter.." Celina muttered, nursing a pained hand. It wasn't serious; it would hurt a little in the morning, but that's all.

"Bedtime, Drama Queen," Lily informed her, dragging Celina up the stairs.

-------------------------------------------

The next day, the Gryffindors all felt the effects of last night's party. Deckard almost gave them all detention, but settled on taking 20 points away from Gryffindor in retaliation for them all falling asleep in his class. Savagely, Sirius stuck a piece of ABC Drooble's Best Blowing Gum on Deckard's abnormally large behind as the bell rang.

"Next up: Potions!" Sirius announced cheerfully as they all left for the dungeons together in a big group. "Remus's favorite class!"

Remus merely rubbed his forehead with his hands.

"Maybe if you tell her how nice she looks, Moony, she'll let us sleep in class!" Peter suggested.

Lily smiled. That WOULD be nice.. She could finish her dream about getting an OWL in every subject imaginable..

"Ah, I've got a splendid idea, Evans!!" James burst out. "Remember that match I almost won last night, but we never finished?"

"I remember it, but not quite like that.." Lily replied.

"Well, let's make a bet this time."

"I'm listening," Celina butt in.

"Excuse me, I wasn't talking to you," James said coldly, and shoved her into Sirius. He turned back to Lily, a smile playing on his lips.

"What kind of a bet?" Lily asked, now interested.

"Ohh.. Miss Evans? A potential gambler?" Sirius tutted.

"We'll make a bet on.. the number of times Caliban calls Remus 'dear' or any other form of such in one class period," James said. "Winner chooses their prize. And if no one wins, then.. well, Remus is a winner no matter what!"

"Prat," Remus muttered.

Lily thought for a moment. Would she regret this?

Okay, what are the chances of anyone winning this one? It wouldn't hurt to try..

Well, it would hurt Remus. But not enough to kill him.

Remus would have to live with it.

"I'm in." Lily decided just as they entered the dungeon classroom.

"Alright; ladies first. Pick a number."

"Ummm.. well, the class is only an hour long today, so.." Once every 20 minutes… that would calculate to..

"4." Lily stated, throwing in an extra.

"6." James declared.

"Crap." Remus blasphemized.

"Good morning, class!" Caliban greeted as the bell rang. "Although that's an oxymoron.. cause mornings are hardly ever good, are they?" She poked Peter, who had already fallen asleep before his cauldron. "Today, we will be making a Luminescence Potion, a potion that makes any object you pour it on to glow in the dark. The time period that it takes effect for depends on how well the potion is made. Usually anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks."

And what good is this potion for? Lily thought. Maybe if you can't find your keys in a really big purse it could come in useful... Lily tried to keep her attention focused on Professor Caliban as she explained the procedure, and soon the class set about on making the potion.

Remus started off today's class a little shakier than usual. He messed up the first ingredient already, spilling half his bat's broth.

"Try to keep stuff INSIDE your cauldron, dear," Caliban sighed as she passed by.

That's one! Lily immediately turned to catch James's eye. James had a "10 minutes into class already" -amazed look on his face.

Keeping her ears as open as they would go, Lily double-tasked on listening and potion-brewing. Twice already, she and James whirled around at the mention of the word "dear", both false alarms; one was directed at someone else, and the other was from two students on the corner casually mentioning deer hunting.

Lily's potion was coming along quite well, though. It would flicker every now and then. Caliban noticed this.

"You're doing quite well, sweetie. 5 points to Gryffindor, even though I'm still a Slytherin at heart.." Caliban mused, gliding by after peering into Lily's cauldron.

Someone scoffed behind her. It was James. Lily knew, because she turned to look, and found him staring at her.

"Jealous?" she teased.

"Not as much as Moony." James grinned, his eyes twinkling.

Wow.. was it getting warm in here? Because the dungeons were usually stony cold.. Maybe something was wrong with her potion?

A belch erupted from Remus's potion.

" Make sure the moths aren't still alive, love!" Caliban exclaimed, thoroughly grossed out.

TWO! Ha. Lily's calculations were going well. She was sure to win. Although she hadn't quite decided on her prize yet..

Imagine, getting James Potter to do whatever you wanted..

Celina obviously had used her ESP powers again, and elbowed Lily just then. "Why are you blushing?" she asked curiously.

"What? I am not! It must be warmer in here today or something.."

"It's the same as it always is."

"Oh. Er.. I must be sick. Yes."

There was a small pause between them among the idle chatter of the classroom.

".. Have you decided on your prize?"

"Would you stop that?!" Lily hissed.

"Are you still asleep today, sweetie?" Professor Caliban tapped Remus on the head with a long fingernail.

"That's three.." James whispered.

"I can count, you know!" Lily replied.

Remus stifled a yawn. "Sorry, Professor.. It won't happen again.."

"Yeah. Right, dear." Caliban absently twirled a lock of hair around her delicate fingers.

Lily smiled, stirring her potion 30 times. Four. Now if Caliban ignored Remus for the remaining 20 minutes, Lily wins! Now, she should begin deciding on her prize.

She turned to catch James's eye again. He was pretending to concentrate on his potion, but was putting in too many mushrooms.

Well, James was rich, so maybe she could force him to buy her some of those nice peacock feather quills..

Quills? What was she thinking?! Surely there were more important things in the world that she needed?

"You know, James, I really like Honeydukes chocolate. Maybe a couple boxes of it would be a sufficient prize for me?"

Yes, chocolate. Mmm..

"Of all the things you could force me to do, buying chocolate is the best choice?" James raised an eyebrow.

"But I like chocolate.."

"I'll buy you ten boxes if you can think of something more interesting!!"

"Don't shout at me! I'm the one winning this bet, remember?"

James bit his lip hesitantly. "Yeah." He shrugged and returned to his cauldron.

Time went more slowly now. Lily anxiously awaited the end of the period. She didn't know why she wanted to win so badly.. But seeing the look on James's face after she had won would be really nice.

Class was almost over!! Caliban instructed the class to take a quill from her desk, coat it in their potions, and leave it in the darkened back room for grading, making sure they were clearly marked with the names of their owners.

Remus quietly swirled a quill into his potion, a lump forming in his throat. He was definitely going to fail this class. He could kiss his OWL goodbye. His potion was still flickering, whereas even Sirius's was emitting a soft radiance. As he withdrew the quill from his cauldron, it started smoking.

Then it caught fire.

Before anyone could panic fully, Caliban had her wand at the ready, and extinguished the fire with a flick of her wrist.

Straightening her hair, she sighed. "It'll be a miracle if you graduate without some sort of tragic accident happening to you, dear Remus."

Curses! That makes 5. Well, no one was going to win today.

Remus sadly began cleaning his work area, a frown firmly planted on his face.

"Oh, you can still pass the class, Remus," Caliban reassured him.

"I can?"

What? Oh no.. why wasn't Caliban going away?? The bell was going to ring in 30 seconds..

"There's always an A for Effort, love."

"AUGH!" Lily exclaimed, then clapped her hands over her mouth as other students stared.

The bell rang. Class was over.

"I win, Evans," James announced, standing up.

"Great. Now I get to do your homework for a month."

"Hardly." James grinned.

".. what?" Lily didn't like the looks of this..

"In two weeks, you will be going with me to Yule Ball."

NOW Lily was regretting taking the bet.

---------------

Phew! Super long for ya!

Sorry for not updating for a while. I really want to finish this story though, so I wont abandon it!!

YAY! HP 6: the Half-Blood Princecomes out in July!:D

Hope you liked this chapter. Review, please!


	11. Frills and Faeries

Thanks to Lils-X, Blink182Rox, and GeEtErZ for reviewing! I posted this one fast, just for you guys. ;)

You guys are soooooo lucky. I almost completely revamped this fic, but then thought better at the last minute. I really don't have the time for such a thing! Besides, the experience helped me come up with more ideas for this fic, so here it stays, despite however corny the first 3 chapters were..

If you have ANY suggestions for this fic, please tell me!!

The Not-So-Secret Life of Lily Evans

Chapter 11: Frills and Faeries

------------------

Lily idly poked at her lunch, more interested in shifting its contents than eating. Her silence called more attention than she wanted.

"Lily? What's wrong?" Celina asked, peering at Lily's face closely. "Are you feeling sick for real this time?"

Lily put down her fork. "James, I-I .. can't go to the Yule Ball with you," she said quietly. So far, no one knew about the recent news, but in hours it could be everywhere.. Lily couldn't take chances; she hated rumors, especially when they were about her. She spoke quietly for this reason; so nobody around could hear what she was saying among the usual noise erupting from meals.

Unfortunately, James didn't hear her either.

"What?"

"I c-can't. Go. To Ball."

James looked bewildered; he ran a hand through his hair, making it more tousled. "Why not?" Yeah, why not? She lost that bet fair and square!

Lily stared at her mashed potatoes. Curses! What would she say now, especially when Celina, Sirius, Remus AND Peter were listening intently, although pretending not to?

She could scratch thinking of herself as not good enough for James. Ha! That was funny… Not good enough for that brainless prat? But she still couldn't see why THE James Potter wanted to go with her to Yule Ball. Lily hardly thought of herself as pretty, even though Celina insisted that her eyes were gorgeous and went on about her lovely hair… There were other girls out there! Like, a bazillion fish in the sea! And Lily was the lone guppy. The only guppy who didn't bother to throw herself at Potter's feet.

Maybe Celina was right? Maybe James DID fancy her? But after 4 years of constant aggravation from him?

"Evans? Hello?"

"Wha--? Er.." Lily hesitated. "I.. I don't have a dress robe. Never got one." HAHA! Now he couldn't possibly--

"Then we'll go shopping on the Hogsmeade trip tomorrow. Tomorrow's Saturday, isn't it, Padfoot?"

"I believe it is, Prongs," Sirius replied, turning his pumpkin juice absently.

"There. No problem."

"B-but.." Great. Now he was going to buy her a dress robe! Lily stabbed an indescribable piece of meat savagely. And she was going to finish reading that book tomorrow, as soon as her homework was completed.

Celina sharply elbowed Lily. Brilliant! Now Celina was developing a nasty habit… "What's wrong with you?!" she hissed.

"What?! He won't leave me alone.."

"Just go with it, Lily. You work yourself too hard, and when someone tries to show you a good time, you blow up in their face," Celina informed her softly.

Argh. Celina was right, Lily thought. Why was she being so tense anyway? Why did the thought of being around James make her so nervous---

…

Oh no.

Oh no no no no no no no no!!

Lily dropped her fork upon her plate with a loud clatter.

Was THAT why her heart raced with fury when he tossed notes at her, pleading for test answers in class? Why her palms got sweaty when she felt his eyes on her? Why she felt hot when he stepped too close in a crowded stairway?

Most likely.

Merlin, now she HAD to go to Yule Ball with James. Why? Because now Lily felt that those feelings she had for James .. weren't just anger… They were…

But Lily Evans couldn't possibly enjoy an evening with that idiot James Potter!

.. Could she?

---------------------

Sleep hit Lily like a dust mote that night. Had she even been sleeping? She awoke in a ghostly manner the next morning, rising from her bed without a word. She didn't feel tired, however, but more like she had swallowed a couple caffeine pills two minutes ago.

She got ready quickly, but not quietly. In fact, she was more chatty today than ever before, and Lily felt like smiling for no good reason.

Lily made sure she dressed snugly today; thick, faded jean flares, "sheepskin" boots (faux, though. Of course!), a white cashmere sweater, a worn brown coat, her red and gold Gryffindor scarf, and finally her school cloak over it all. She shoved her latest piece of light reading, a stout little novel, into her cloak pocket. Was she forgetting anything?

Well, a little eyeliner couldn't hurt.. Merlin, PETUNIA was right. She DID need these confounded makeup things after all! Lily shook her head at her now-upturned trunk before checking the mirror one last time.

She found Celina, Sirius, and Remus waiting for her at the school entrance hall.

Lily greeted all of them with a smile, but Celina and Sirius were currently counting the fairies occupying the Christmas trees. Well, sort of. Celina was giving Sirius a kiss on the cheek for each faerie he could find, and Sirius was shrewdly adding in extra numbers.

"Just ignore them for now," Remus suggested. "Be glad you weren't here earlier, when those two discovered the mistletoe. McGonagall gave out 11 detentions to kids betting on how long the session would last, and 14 to Sirius alone."

Lily winced. Yes, she was glad. Glad she was spared from some strange nightmares.

"James and Peter went on ahead to Hogsmeade already. They said they'd meet us outside 'Frills and Faeries'," Remus informed her.

"Oh. Okay," Lily replied. "Well, then it's just you and me.." she said, looking back at Celina and Sirius for a second as they all filed out of Hogwarts.

Remus smiled, but he still stared at the snow-covered ground, occupied on something.

"Remus? Are you feeling okay?"

"Huh?" Remus was taken aback. "Uh.. no. I'm fine, really."

Lily shrugged. "You sure get sick a lot. Not that it's any of my business.."

"It's alright. I just.. have a really poor immune system. I can catch every cold, flu, and fever known to man," he laughed halfheartedly.

Poor Remus. Maybe he has that immune deficiency? What was it? HIV? Lily shook her head. Change the subject. Gracefully.

"Sorry about yesterday."

"What? Why?"

"I'm sorry we humiliated you in Potions. James and I, I mean. It was a dumb thing to bet on.. If all the teasing is bothering you, then---"

"Lily, it's fine. I'm used to it, really," Remus reassured her. "It's partly my fault, anyway.."

"Your fault?"

"Creidwy and I.. we've been together for a while. Or, were, actually."

Lily was aghast; then she nearly slipped on patch of ice.

"You-- with the Professor?!" Scary! Caliban was what? Three years older than they were! But this WAS the 20th century.. Anything could happen.. Lily pushed the vagrant thought out of her mind.

"Shh!" Remus whispered, looking back to make sure Sirius and Celina didn't hear. He didn't want them starting to bug him again..

"..Sorry."

"She.. she wasn't a Professor then. She was just another girl at this school. And she was a Slytherin."

"Which was an idea your friends didn't take too well?"

"Nope. They made all these little plots to break us up, which had a reverse effect. It seemed that the more they tried, the more she clung to me, just to get on their nerves."

"That sounds like her.." Lily laughed. "She is a really pretty girl, though."

"Yeah. She is," Remus smiled dreamily. "And she uses that to her advantage."

Although puzzled, Lily realized this wasn't the best time to find out more. They were outside Frills and Faeries already, and James was anxiously waiting for her. Er.. James and PETER were waiting for THEM. Yeah.

"Hey, Lils, I brought ya something! Although it might be a little melted now.." James said, digging into his pocket and fishing out an extremely large bar of Honeyduke's chocolate. How it fit in there, Lily would never know, but she accepted it just the same.

"Thanks, Potter," she grinned, opening its delicious contents. Thankfully, it wasn't melted at all, but pleasantly warm.. Lily ate it ravenously, although reluctantly having to share pieces of the chocolate with everyone else before they could go inside.

Lily's heart sank as she stepped into the store. This place certainly had "frills". Too much frills for anyone's wallet! Frills and Faeries was like the Bloomingdale's of Hogsmeade! James was going to buy her a dress robe from here?!

"James, I don't think I could--"

"Evans, you worry too much. So stop protesting and go try something on, or whatever it is girls do around here..."

Lily bit her lip as Celina pulled her away to a dressing room and began tossing random robes in after her.

"Try the pink!" she dictated.

Lily did as she was told, slipping on a pink robe with bell sleeves, and coming out to be judged by the "panel".

Sirius held up a -2, whereas Remus was asleep. James and Peter kept their 10's up just to be nice.

"Ugly!" Sirius shouted. "Clashes with your hair!"

"Yeah, put on the blue," Celina said.

Disheartened, Lily took the blue robe from Celina and went to change again.

"It'll be faster if you change out here," Sirius suggested to Lily as she turned.

"Shutup, Padfoot!" James chucked his number 4 at Sirius. "I'm sure she'd rather have ME help her undress in private, anyway."

Lily blushed as red as her hair, as she and Celina whacked them both with spare hangers.

"Blue sucks; don't listen to Celina anymore," Sirius informed Lily as she stepped out in the blue robe. He had a positive 2 up this time, though. "Try the pine green one."

"I can see it now: My best friend, the new Tommy Hilfiger!" James said mock-wistfully. "I never knew you had such an eye for fashion, Padfoot."

"Pfft. It's what's UNDER the fashion that's important," Sirius waved a hand about.

"Here, Lily, red this time." Celina handed Lily a red robe.

This was taking forever!! 3 robes later, after Remus had awoken to a makeover involving 6 different kinds of expensive grandma hats, Lily took the green one Sirius had been suggesting all along. And it was the best one.

Well, judging by Jame's 132XOXOXOX, Peter's 10, Remus's K (he was still half-asleep), and Sirius's 8.7 (because "the shade wasn't exactly right", although it could easily be fixed at the checkout) the robe looked pretty good on her. It was a nice robe, the color of fresh forest pine needles (except less smelly), slightly darker than Lily's eyes, with a low cut on the neckline and long, fluttery sleeves..

The pricetag was scary. Lily had never paid such an outrageous amount in her life for ANYTHING!

But James didn't care. He HAD rated it a 132XOXOXOX, and was willing to pay for a 132XOXOXOX-type dress. For Lily. Just because she had lost a bet.

"I shouldn't be making you do this.."

"You're worrying again," James grinned, ruthlessly flinging out a sack of galleons to be sacrificed. "It's just a couple allowances. And YOU'RE not making me do anything. I'M making you go with me, remember? A bet's a bet, and it's too late to back out now."

Lily looked at the floor, feeling ashamed. But it was such an expensive dress..

"If you keep feeling guilty, Lily, I won't be able to treat us all to HOT BUTTERBEERS AT THE THREE BROOMSTICKS," he said loudly, so everyone else would hear.

Peer pressure. Works every time. At the persuasion of everyone, Lily was forced to stop feeling guilty and start looking forward to some hot drinks for such a cold day.

Yeah. A REALLY cold day. The walk back to Hogwarts was looking bleak as night fell. They had spent the day eating, exploring that joke shop, eating while shopping at Honeydukes, eating while not shopping at Honeyduke's, taking a walk along the frosted paths of a holiday-themed garden while eating, and eating at a small café.

What? Teenagers are always hungry. High metabolism, I tell you. Whenever Lily had a chance to sit down, she was reading her book that she had snuck along, snapping it shut and hiding it behind her back whenever Celina became suspicious. It was an engrossing book; she had checked it out two days ago from the school library.. It wasn't some trashy romance novel, oh no. It was much better than that; an encyclopedia on magical creatures, like faeries, dragons, werewolves, and.. vampires.

Lily shuddered. It was suddenly dark, and ten times colder. Or so it felt to Lily. Now she remembered what she had forgotten: GLOVES.

And she couldn't read with cold hands!

-------------------------------

OH NO!

Yeah, I hate having cold hands.. and I hate winter! Argh!

Hope you liked the chapter; I'll try to get the next one up soon. A new character will soon be appearing.. DUN DUN DUN. But quick! Someone gimme a good English last name for said character!

Review, please!


	12. The Secret Life of James Potter

Meh, I change my mind too much.. ANYWAYS, thanks for the reviews and name suggestions. I decided to use a name, but not for the character I had in mind.

The Secret Life of James Potter.

**AkiTenshi**: What was your PS? It didn't go through.. Of course Sirius and James are hormonal. They're teenagers! XD You can try keeping Caliban off Remus, but your efforts will be futile! BWAHAHHA!

**Lils-X:** Thanks for your support!! I appreciate it! :) I'll keep updating, not to worry. Thanks for sticking around.

**Someone: **Thanks. I do try to keep everyone in character; it makes everything so much easier. No one wants to read a story with the same type of characters everywhere. It would have no substance! Writing in character does take some time getting used to; you have to put yourself in the mind of the character you're writing about, which can totally change your aspects on people in general. ACK! I should save all this wonderful explanation for an English essay!! -sobs in a corner-

**Blink182rox:** okay, I updated. Thanks for the suggestions and please keep reading. :)

--------------------------------

The Not-so-secret Life of Lily Evans

Special chapter 12: The Secret Life of James Potter.

James Potter was a lanky boy for his tender age of 12, lopping off as the tallest boy in his class. The school year had just begun, making James a second year, but he was already walking around as if he owned the place. Which didn't make the upperclassmen so happy, but James didn't care. He had three prankster friends, and they recently came up with a name for themselves: The Marauders. But no one knew them. Yet. And they didn't even have cool codenames, like Raiden or Solid Snake. And they didn't play too much video games like the crazed author, because Atari was the hit new thing among Muggle middle-aged men at this time period.

"Look, James, it's that geeky little Muggle-born again!" his best friend Sirius whispered, pointing at a girl leaving the library with a stack of books too big for her.

James watched her out of the corner of his eye as he and Sirius passed her. She was a scrawny little red-haired Gryffindor girl.. what was her name? Evans.. something Evans. Well, Evans was the Marauders's new target!

The two turned to watch her shuffle along the stony floors, headed toward the Gryffindor Tower, and when she was a good distance away, James and Sirius shot some of those new Fillisbusters' fireworks at her back. They watched with satisfaction as books and pages tumbled through the air, and then ran off before she could catch them.

………………………

One day, on a fair spring afternoon, James had successfully snuck into the girl's bathroom. The old broomstick always came in handy. He found his destination to be a little disappointing, but put that aside and stepped around the scary sinks to find a little red-head crying her eyes out in the farthest corner, sitting with her arms upon her knees and her face buried in her arms. Skulking, he tiptoed over to where she sat and then sat down right in front of her. Lily didn't notice he was there until he tapped her on her exposed head.

"Y-you!" she hastily rubbed her eyes dry with her robe sleeve.

James smiled. She was trying to hide the fact she was bawling in the most abandoned bathroom in Hogwarts, and failing miserably. Oh, he loved futile efforts. So satisfying.

"G-get out. This is a girl's b-bathroom," she said stubbornly.

"Why are you crying?" James grinned slyly.

"I-I'm not crying," Lily lied, her breath shaky.

"You're a horrible liar, Evans."

"And you're a horrible person, P-Potter."

"Me? I just hexed old Snivellus 5 times over for what he said."

Lily narrowed her eyes, resting her chin upon her arms. "Why?"

"Because we Gryffindors have to stick together!" James said grandly. That's right. No one insulted a Gryffindor and got away with it. No one except for the Marauders, that is.

"Don't include me among prats like you!"

"Well, it wasn't my choice to be stuck in the same House, either. But you're not too bad for a Muggle-born."

"Was that a compliment?" Lily asked acidly.

James shrugged. "Depends on how you interpret it. Did you know you're extremely scrawny? You should get out more; build some muscle."

"… I'll get some exercise by punching you in the face."

"Really? Go on," James said, offering her a cheek. "I bet it wouldn't hurt anyway."

"… I hate you," Lily mumbled crossly, her face buried into her arms again. For a geek, she was so amusing when she was angry, James noted.

"You know, I don't take to haters very well," James shook his head.

"Lay off, Potter! I don't need you harassing me on top of everything else you've done to me! Why won't you leave me alone, for once?!" Lily yelled, her voice echoing off the tiled walls.

"Because you're so fun to annoy," James said. Wasn't that obvious? "And I've got a lot of material to work with: you wear glasses the size of Ireland, your skin is as pale as a ghost, you're so gaunt that your bones stick out in every direction, your hair makes your head look as if you stuck it in a fire, you're stubborn as a mule, you're a complete nerd... must I go on?"

"I HATE YOU!!!"

James nimbly dodged a hex. Lily is ever-so-touchy, he thought.

So James on that day, made a vow to himself:

Aggravate Lily Evans for as long as he lived.

…………….

It WAS loads of fun, actually. And James had missed the fun over the long summer break before fourth year started.

But it was worth the wait.

"Evans! My favorite target!" James greeted a snappy Lily Evans as she boarded the Hogwarts Express. "You gained weight, I see. Makes for bigger target area, I suppose?"

Lily said nothing, trying not to look at him. James knew she was hiding something..

"Evans? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanns?" he sang, tapping her on the head sharply.

"Ouch! Stop it!!"

"What's that? No, in your--- are those BRACES, Evans?" James beamed. Oh ho ho! This year was definitely going to be good. "Hey, tin grin, I bet all that metal is worth a fortune on the Black Market.."

A good year indeed, James thought.

"… call me 'Metal-mouth' one more time, and I swear-----!!"

………………………………….

Let's say James had a dream one night. Halloween from two months ago, to be exact. And in this dream, he had the form of a majestic stag, walking about on the lush, yet abandoned lawns of Hogwarts… Er.. Mostly abandoned.

A lone figure crouched upon the ground, fumbling and muttering as if searching for a missing object. James crept closer, curious, his hooves failing to make sounds upon the moist grass.

He heard it utter two syllables; although "it" sounded more like a despairing girl than anything else.. She grabbed a now-lit stick off the ground: her wand.

The moon came out from behind the clouds as she stood up slowly, bathing her form in blue light. She saw him, and held her wand up, startled. But then her eyes adjusted to the light, and she lowered her wand again. James was no threat.

James smelt something on the air: it was her. He stepped closer to the source of the intoxicating fragrance.. he knew that smell. Parts of the Forbidden Forest were bathed in it. The soft essence of forest magnolia, coming from the shampoo of her long auburn hair.

He had never realized how bright her eyes were; she regarded him in trepidation as he, unknowingly, stepped closer and closer to her and that wonderful smell.

She reached out and touched his nose with her soft, yet cold hands, however her face flushed with warmth. They touched for a still moment before he raptly stepped even nearer, past her cloaked arm. The girl shivered slightly as he brushed those rosy cheeks with his own. He couldn't hold her; James was a stag. He had no arms.

A howl rang through the cold air.

What had James been doing? He jumped back, turning towards the source. He shouldn't have been here.

Hesitantly, he turned back towards the girl. Her school robes clung to her cold figure, curved from the years since he had known her, and her long red hair glimmered fiercely in the moonlight, whisked about by the night breeze. Despite the grim task ahead of him, James smiled inwardly as he ran off towards the howl.

Geeky little Lily Evans, of all people?

"Love at First Sight" was a lie.

----------------------------------

Ahhh.. of all times to have flashbacks, James thought bitterly. Funny how people change, though, he added quietly.

Brilliant. Now he was speaking to himself!

James diverted his attention on trying not to slip on the ice as they all walked back to Hogwarts from their Hogsmeade expedition. Wormtail had been chosen as the reluctant volunteer to carry all the baggage, but Moony, being the sap he usually was, decided to help him out a bit.

All the while, Lily blew on her hands to keep them from freezing.

"All right there, Evans?" James asked, rumpling his hair for good measure.

"My hands are turning to icicles," she replied, rubbing them together fiercely.

"Keep that up and you'll start a fire!" James laughed. He dug into his pockets. "I think I have some spare gloves in here some--- Ah! I left them in my other cloak. Sorry." Yeah, like they actually came in USEFUL for hiding fingerprints? NO! No one but an unbalanced Muggle uses fingerprinting methods for evidence.. Sirius and his hare-brained schemes, he cursed.

"It's alright. It's not that long of a walk, anyway.."

Well, yeah, cause we're not using that hidden passage directly to Hogwarts, James thought.

"Besides, my hands are always cold anyway."

James laughed. "How unfortunate... My hands are normal."

"Yeah, lucky you.." Lily scoffed.

"Here," James said, coming up with something brilliant. He took her hands into his, clutching them tightly as they walked forward. Her hands _were_ freezing.. but so delicate and soft..

Lily pulled her hands away quickly, as if it were an instinct. "N-no thanks, James," she said bitterly, returning to her method of rubbing her hands together.

"Suit yourself, Lils," James shrugged. "I was only trying to help you."

Lily said nothing in response.

"Hey, ladies, waana check out the 'Shrieking Shack'?" Sirius inquired, stopping at a foreboding iron fence. Behind it, upon a hill, sat a dismal little house, old and gray. A jungle of unkept gardens surrounded it.

"Shrieking.. shack?" Lily repeated.

Sirius flashed a huge grin. "It's supposed to be haunted."

"Really?" Celina questioned, stepping closer and touching the iron bars.

"Yes; they say that sometimes, on long, cold nights," Sirius began, drawing his voice in a creepy manner, "spirits awaken from their unrest and moan and scream in agony, striking fear into the hearts of men… Hence, 'Shrieking Shack'."

"What a load of crap," Remus grumbled.

"Shutup, Moony," James said, chucking a small snowball at him. "Where's your sense of fun?"

"He must have left it back at 'Frills and Faeries," Peter affirmed.

"Let's go in!" Celina said excitedly, pulling on Sirius's arm.

"Let's not and say we did," Remus interrupted, thrusting his hands into his cloak pockets stubbornly.

"Oh, shutup, Remus. No one asked you," Celina replied tartly.

"No, Celina, I think Remus is right.. It's getting dark. We should be back at school.." Lily said quietly.

Celina glared at Remus before giving the iron gate one last look, and turning to continue down the path with her head steadfastly held high.

Everyone else continued walking and moving on to other topics as Hogwarts drew nearer.

Lily was shivering more than ever.

"Lily, you're going to get sick," James said, holding out his hands to her. Hesitantly, Lily took them. Her smaller hands were enveloped in James's. After a few moments of realization, Lily then stepped close to him, intent on stealing his body warmth for the remaining time they were outside.

-----------------------

This was fun to write. And I wrote it surprisingly fast, too..

Sorry, no new character this chapter. But guaranteed in the next one! I promise! Two, actually, but one not so important to the plot line, which, also in the next chapter, will become unfurling from the shadowy depths of my mind.. bwahhahaa. I like not revealing the plot right away. Makes me feel like JK Rowling! XD

Review if you want more. :)


	13. Mishmash and Romance

Okay, okay.. Long break. Sorry. School sucks. I'm sorry. But thanks for all the reviews and sticking by. I hope you'll like this chapter… VERY LONG JUST FOR YOU! Phew!

..Book 6 was AWESOME! EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The Not-So-Secret Life of Lily Evans

Chapter 13- Mishmash and romance

-------------------

Only a few more days until the holiday vacation begins, Lily thought wistfully on the following Monday as she made her way down to Great Hall for breakfast. But someone had beaten her to vacation already!

"Students," Dumbledore began before the food appeared. "I would like to inform you all that your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Deckard, has taken a leave of absence for personal reasons."

"Good riddance," James grumbled sleepily, his hair more disheveled than ever. Lily inertly agreed; no one really liked Deckard either.

"In his place will be a substitute, Professor James Izumi," Dumbledore continued. "Please treat him with the same respect as you would your regular teacher.. if not more," he added with a twinkle in his eye.

Professor Izumi was a tall young man. Very young. The same age as Professor Caliban, a recent graduate, though of some foreign school. And he was very handsome, according to the whole female populous of Hogwarts.. He looked Japanese, just as his name sounded, with fair-golden skin and sleek black hair that fringed his slanted, almond-shaped eyes. However, he was uncommonly tall for his ethnicity; he stood just a bit taller than James, who was easily the tallest student in the school. His eyes shone like a clear amethyst.

Lily hoped he would be somewhat more agreeable than Deckard. She was too tired to deal with otherwise, as a couple essays kept her up till late the night before. Besides, if this new professor was that good-looking, he was bound to be nicer in comparison to a hideous Professor Deckard.

"Well, judging by his name, Prongs, I'd say he has good taste," Sirius prodded James.

"The only thing I want to taste is a hot scone."

----------------------------------

After a particularly long hour of Arithmancy, Lily went down a floor towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, her stomach nervously hoping that the new Professor wasn't a horrible toad of a person; unlike Deckard, who was a toad in both appearance AND manner.

She found James in the hallway, conversing with a Ravenclaw girl who Lily knew as Elaine Barker, but nothing more. As soon as Lily had neared, the conversation ended abruptly, Elaine looking furious and James irritated. Lily stood aghast as Elaine shot her a glare for coming across her in a bad temperament.

"What was that about, James?" Lily asked, watching Elaine stomp off towards the staircase.

"Nothing important," James scoffed. "Let's just go to class.."

He pushed her into the D.A.D.A. classroom, which was already half-full. They took their usual seats, Lily somewhere around the middle of the room; close enough to read the board and far enough away from Deckard. James sat directly behind her, as always. Lily noticed all the girls had arrived early, and were sitting attentively in the very front of the room. Every seat in the first two rows was occupied. Class began shortly after everyone else (namely the boys in the class) arrived.

"Good afternoon, class," Professor Izumi greeted, bowing as people in his country did. "If you had forgotten, I am Professor Izumi."

"Professor!" a Ravenclaw girl's hand shot up. "Where are you from?"

"Kyoto, Japan."

"What are the magic schools in Japan like?" a boy whom Lily didn't know asked.

"Well, I'd say they're very hard, and very competitive… School here is easier in comparison.."

"Does that mean you'll give us even more homework than Deckard did?" Sirius asked unhopefully.

Izumi smiled. "Of course not; this isn't Japan, is it?"

The class cheered. Finally! Now they didn't have to worry about that upcoming essay on the characteristics of banshees..

"First, I would like to get to know my students a little better before we start today's lesson. We'll go around the room, row by row. You, miss," he gestured to a girl in the front row corner, "just say your name and something about yourself, and then we'll move on to the next person."

So it went, and Izumi carefully took into account the names of the students, whom the author is too lazy to describe. Except one swooning girl who said she liked romantic candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach…

"…Long… walks.. on… beach…" Sirius jotted down. Celina turned around from her seat next to Lily and chucked her Defense textbook at him.

Soon, they were upon Lily.

Lily stood up neither slowly nor hastily. "I'm Lily Evans, and I like… erm…" What DID Lily like? Well, she couldn't say majestic stags. That'd be ironic, not to mention cliché.. ".. I like to read trashy romance novels!" she said boldly, the class laughing with her. Lily triumphantly sat down with a grin on her face.

Next, Celina stated that although her cat would be angry with her, she secretly adored puppies, and added that Sirius was a big git.

In the next row, Sirius claimed he also liked puppies and believed Celina to be "the goddess Aphrodite in disguise, gentler than a soft summer's breeze and a whole lot nicer-smelling."

James stood up. "I'm James Potter, and desperately hoping that Sirius would try to smell better than a dungbomb once in a while."

Izumi smirked. "Nice name, Mr. Potter. And thanks for the warning.. I'll try to keep away from Mr. Black, then."

James flashed a grin at a pouting Sirius as he sat down.

Then, Peter stood up and said his name, adding that he loved Treacle Tarts. Remus said he'd like to not be associated with the prats around him.

The rest of the period went by wonderfully; Izumi actually taught the class instead of informing them that they couldn't protect themselves from a potato, and the class learned two new defense spells in one period. It was the best lesson all year.

Lily was sad it was over so soon, and she gathered her things slowly after the lesson.

"So, Evans, you actually like trashy romance novels?" James asked her after class, leaning over at her desk.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I read anything I can get my hands on," Lily replied, stuffing her quills into her bag, "and Petunia happens to leave a lot of those lying around the house…"

"I never thought anyone actually READ them," James mused, tugging on a lock of Lily's hair, "but if you find any with moving pictures…"

"Ew! Sod off, Potter!" Lily made a face at him as she snatched back her fiery hair.

"I thought you'd say that.. In that case, I'll see you at lunch," James smiled as he straightened and slung his bag over his shoulder before heading out the door.

"Pfft.." Lily huffed as he left. She began shoving her quill into her bag.

"Splendid job today on those armor spells today, Miss Evans," Professor Izumi commented from his desk, arranging some papers.

Lily nearly sent her bag flying from the sudden comment. "AHH! Oh-- Professor, you scared me…" Breathing deeply, she retrieved a few papers. "Er.. I mean, thanks. I'm just glad I understood everything. It was a great lesson." Lily was surprised to notice her face felt awfully warm. Ah! She was blushing.

"Thank you very much," Izumi inclined his head. "I've heard some pretty nasty stories about your last teacher, but if I'm even receiving compliments from such a brilliant student, it must mean something about myself.." Izumi said smugly, smiling at Lily out of the corner of his eye.

Lily blushed more furiously as she closed her bag and turned to leave. She liked this teacher; he was very kind. AND his nose wasn't the size of Arkansas. In fact, he WAS really good-looking.. just like the other James..

"Ouch! Watch it, Evans," said a person that had just ran into Lily. It was Caliban, and she looked a little cranky. Or maybe it was because Lily herself was so elated?

"Sorry, Professor.." Lily mumbled apologetically.

Caliban merely patted Lily on the head as she strode by, sitting herself down right on Izumi's desk.

"Ah, Ohayo, Creidwy-san… Having a good day?" Professor Izumi asked, putting his papers aside.

"No! Jemusu-kun, I just discovered the most.. unpleasant surprise!" Caliban began, as if she and Izumi had been friends for the longest time. "Guess what night the Yule Ball happens to fall upon?"

"..I'm pretty sure I know. How unfortunate."

"Unfortunate is an understatement! I'll have to be on.. duty… again…" Caliban then turned to Lily. "Ah… Lily, be a good girl and go off to lunch!" she said cheerily.

"Oops.. sorry. Bye, Professors!" Lily blushed as she left. She had stood there gawking for how long?

She could still hear Caliban's voice.. "And I bought that dress robe for nothing! Hmph!"

And then Izumi. "Gomen.. Maybe you can still return it?"

And then nothing. She was out of earshot now. Lily's feet took Lily down the halls towards the Great Hall all by themselves while her mind wandered. "Yule ball? Duty? What duty? Why wouldn't Caliban be going to Yule Ball? Guard duty? Maybe not all teachers were required to go..?"

The thought of Yule Ball made Lily's stomach jump. That's right. She was going with James Potter, the most sought-after boy in the whole fifth year! Lily blushed a crimson to challenge her hair color. Thankfully, she felt her face cool off as she sat down at the Gyffindor table for some odd purpose that she couldn't remember…

"Lily? Aren't you going to eat lunch?" Celina asked worriedly. Right. Lunch.

"Er.. well, I'm not really all that hungry."

"Dibs!" James said quickly, reaching over and spearing Lily's sandwich with a fork.

"Pig," Sirius muttered jealously. "I was going to eat that!"

Lily merely sipped a goblet of pumpkin juice as she watched the spectacle resolve as James and Sirius split the sandwich. James naturally took the bigger half, winking at Lily as he took a large bite, causing her to blush and avert her eyes tensely. She HAD wanted that sandwich. It would have kept her stomach from growling later in History of Magic. But it was too late for that now. Besides, at least she could watch the way those adorable dimples of his formed in his cheeks.. which was way better than any measly sandwich!

………………………….

"Stupid Potter…" Lily grumbled, nursing an equally grumbling belly later that afternoon. She was walking alone to her Potions lesson, after a particularly ruthless arithmancy class. She shut her eyes to placate the hunger, but all she saw were little sandwich faeries. As soon as she opened her eyes, she walked straight into an irritated-looking girl.

Now seeing stars, Lily winced from where she had landed on the cold stone floor.

"Watch where you're going, btch!"

Oh no… Elaine Barker! Lily began to gather her things, trying to look busy and not meeting her eyes. Maybe if she acted spaced out enough..

"Sorry, Elaine.. I guess I'm not feeling well today.."

Elaine narrowed her eyes. "Don't speak as if we're friends, Evans.. You ugly little hag.. The only thing we have in common is James Potter!"

Lily hesitated visibly. Big mistake. Elaine noticed Lily's silence. Silence, and therefore her sensitivity on that topic.

Elaine smiled crookedly and folded her hands behind her back. "I haven't forgotten that you've stolen James from me."

Stolen! Lily stole James? When did Elaine—

"But don't worry. I'm sure he'll get bored of you real quick," Elaine said acidly. "James will turn around, and when he does, you'll be a lonely little nobody again.." she laughed, and skipped off. But not before kicking a few of Lily's books down the corridor.

Lily clenched her fists in rage. Why hadn't she done something! That beast of a girl was two feet away and all Lily had done was kneel on the floor in silence and submission! Lily hated herself for that.. Walked all over like a crummy doormat..

Lily's head swam. Nausea from an empty stomach combined with the strain of late-night essay completions and study sessions hit her like a truck, sending her mentally reeling. Lily felt warm tears slide down her cheeks.

"So weak… Why does she hate me? Do other girls hate me, too? And James.. Would he…really..?" Lily crumpled into her hands, the absence of food in her stomach making it easier to wallow in self-despair. She was so dizzy, so sick.. Crying seemed the only solution..

"Evans!"

Lily sat bolt upright in shock.

"P-Potter?"

James bent over her, looming like a tower. "Are you.. crying?"

Horrified, Lily smeared the tears off her cheeks with her robe sleeves.

"What happened? Did someone.."

"No," Lily interrupted quickly. "I just.. I'm tired. That's all." Thankfully, her stomach made no loud protests then.. At least James wouldn't have to feel guilty about her missing lunch.

"Wanna go take a nap, then?" James grinned, scooping up her scattered things in a flash.

"N-nap? But it's.."

"OWL year.. so? You can sleep right in Potions class, with the right bit of distractions or excuses. Or sweet talking the Professor," James suggested, his eyes twinkling with mischief. Why did he look so handsome when he was up to something?

"Uhh.. I don't think that's such a good idea, James," Lily stammered, flushing. The dizziness was getting worse, but she stood up just the same after collecting her things. Another mistake. The blood had rushed down to her feet, and her head spun again, causing her to fall over onto James.

"You're not feeling alright, are you?" James asked, straightening her up.

Lily shook her head as if to clear it, pushing herself away from the close proximity between them. "I'll be fine.. Let's just go to class."

The bell rang loudly in her ears as the two went inside the classroom and found their seats.

"Good afternoon, kiddies," Caliban greeted the class unenthusiastically. "Today, we will be preparing a recent discovery in potions, the invisi-draught. Name says what it does, as usual…"

"Professor looks especially bored today," Peter commented.

All the better for Lily. The rest of Caliban's words were drowned out in buzzing sounds and blurring vision as Lily's eyelids sagged.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Green fields in all directions. No, a meadow of wildflowers, different colors spilling around her. Petals flecked the air and blue sky above, swirling around her. Something moved to Lily's left.

"James?" she asked aloud.

But it wasn't. It was something scary. Lily couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was.. it held the form of a big dog, then grew nastier into a hairier, massive monster with fangs. The meadow withered; the sky darkened; the petals turned to decaying black leaves falling all around her.

Lily ran as hard as she could, her feet gliding over the ground. It was chasing her now! What could she do?

"Help! Someone help me!" she screamed from a nonexistent mouth.

"I'll protect you, Lily!" said a familiar voice.

"James? James! Help, it's after me—" Lily stopped short when she ran into the arms of the tall figure before her. It wasn't James.. or was it? Who—

"Professor Izumi!"

"Who else were you looking for?" Izumi asked, a smile across his face. "My name is James, remember?"

"I.. Potter. Where is Potter?" Lily turned around, not to find the monster, but James Potter, crouched down over something, poking at it with a stick. Closer inspection revealed it to be the limp form of a.. stag?

Potter stabbed and prodded it with the point of his stick, a grin plastered wrongly on his face, mismatched and horrid.

"James! No, don't—"

But it wasn't a stag anymore; it was that kid James and his friends liked to pick on.. Snivellus? No, Severus. Severus Snape, beaten and tormented, crying out in pain and anguish in a mangled heap on the blackened ground.

James no longer had a stick; it was his wand, raised up in the air. His lips moved to form a horrible curse—

"No!"

…

Lily jolted awake in class, surprised to find no pain coursing through her body. She shivered.

"Back so soon, Lily?" Caliban chided lightly. "Here, drink this, and we'll have no more napping in class. Unless we're all napping like kindergarteners.. In which case we'd all need pillows…" she trailed off as Lily surveyed the cup handed to her.

"Is this some potion..?" Lily swirled it around.

"It's coffee!" Caliban said, exasperated.

"Oh.. right. Thanks, Professor…"

"Professor! I want a cappuccino!" called Sirius, waving his hand in the air.

"Sure, let's all have a tea party!" Caliban replied.

The class cheered.

"Ha! You wish! If McGonagall found out, she'd have my head…"

"I feel so discriminated against.." Sirius cried. "It's because I'm Black, isn't it!"

"What? …No, it's because you're a prat," Remus muttered. "What does racism have to do with—"

"Oh, Remus! Get back to work before I have to flunk you, darling."

"You mean I'm not flunking already?" Remus looked profoundly happy.

"No. Not yet, anyway.."

"Thank you! Thank you, Professor!" Remus cried, grabbing his beloved professor in a death grip around her tiny waist.

"Eee! You're crushing meeeee…" Caliban wailed.

Realizing he was receiving odd looks from the class, he hastily let go, blushing furiously.

"Keep going! If you broke her in half we'd have no more class!" Peter laughed as Caliban trudged away to stop a kid's cauldron from sprouting feelers.

Sirius looked scandalized. "Remus! How could you?"

"Yeah, Moony! I thought we all went over the importance of Slytherin abstinence a long time ago," James waved an angry hand in the air.

Lily pretended she didn't hear that. So what? It wasn't Remus's fault he actually tried to be a GOOD student..

Remus poked his cauldron distractedly, lips puffed out to almost a stubborn pout. "Th-that's none of your business…" he muttered sourly. And thus he remained sour for the rest of the day.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Meh.

Ideas, anyone?

Here is one for you: Review!


	14. Yule Ball

Thanks for reviews! I'm sorry this is taking so long. But thank my commute to school I can work on this more. It's far from over, kiddies. Stick around!

The blah balh you know this part

Chapter 14- Yule Ball.. Original? No.

The day of Yule Ball hit Lily like a vat of creamy vanilla custard, sticking and sloppy and goopy. (Once again, author is hungry…) She had just enough time to hit the library for some Defense book scouring after lunch, but two hours quickly passed. Celina had made Lily promise to attend a hair-conditioning session back in the dormitories. Thus, Lily set off from the library, books trailing after her with a simple spell. All the way into the common room and up the dormitory stairs..

Celina greeted her with pots and jars of fragrant goop scattered around the floor. Olivia was there as well, reading a random Quidditch book.

"About time, Lils," Celina rolled her eyes. "Merlin! I see you've invited the library, as well."

Lily shrugged sheepishly, commanding the books to pile near her trunk. "Just some light homework reading for Defense class.."

"Lily, pick a James and stick with him!" Celina smiled, still managing to look serene while eyeing the books inquisitively.

Lily opened her mouth to say something, but decided against digging herself into another hole. She merely stood staring at the floor, face burning. She did NOT like the Professor.. it wasn't HER fault that so many handsome men had come into her life…

AHH! What was Lily thinking!

"Step into my office, ladies," Celina gestured to her collection on the floor.

Olivia sat down first next to Celina, and Lily cautiously followed suit.

"First up is a moisture-enhancing cleansing potion…"

The names blurred out in Lily's memory as Celina opened bottle after jar after bottle… The three went through a few hours of gooping and re-gooping hair, all the while chatting like normal girls do.

Lily found out that Olivia was going to Ball with Matt Jordan, which didn't surprise her. Of course. Olivia nearly screamed when she found out about James Potter, but astoundingly didn't say anything beyond a shocked "Oh."

The topic changed to dress robes and makeup, and Lily found herself staring out the window near her four-poster. A flash of movement from afar caught her eye.

A figure crept along the edge of the school grounds, towards that odd willow tree that no one neared. Lily could see it creeping along the edge of the Forest, like a hunter stalking its prey.

Lily squinted. Well, THAT looked suspicious.

"Hey, am I seeing things or is that someone out there..?" Lily pointed out, just to make sure she wasn't feeling aftereffects of that last Charms lesson.

Curious, the other two got up and looked, all three now crowding the small window. A passerby would have thought them all strange, for they all wore odd showercap things on their goopy heads..

"Who is it?" Olivia murmured, frowning. "Looks like it's limping.."

Limping slightly, the figure was still skirting the school grounds, but not for long. It disappeared back into the forest, its black shadowy self seamless with the dark Forest, as if it had discovered its watchers.

"I think it had something attached to its foot!" Celina exclaimed. "The size of a Quaffle, it was."

Lily blinked. "Like some kind of tumor! I doubt it. Bites or infections naturally can't swell a foot to that size, either…"

Celina and Olivia exchanged looks. There went the genius on her train of thought.

"So you're saying that person had some kind of handicap they were born with?" Celina ventured.

"Born with..? Maybe. Or.. maybe… A transfiguration went wrong?"

"Transfiguration?" Olivia repeated, confused.

"Or it could be a transformation. Metamorphosis."

The three gasped all at once. "Deckard!"

"No way!" Celina burst.

"Well, he DID disappear," Olivia pointed out.

Lily bit her lip. "So he's not on vacation. He's just lurking around the school."

"That's comforting," Celina stated. "So what do we do?"

"What CAN we do?" Olivia asked. "Excuse me, Dumbledore, but you know our MIA Professor? Yeah, we just saw him skulking about in that Forest from our seventh-story dorm windows while applying potentially hazardous chemicals to our heads!"

"Merlin, we're all off our rockers," Lily groaned.

"I'd say the best thing we can do is keep an eye out for him. If he shows up again, we'll bring it up," Celina suggested. "Just to make sure it was really him."

Olivia and Lily nodded in agreement.

"Right, we can take these off, and.. _Scourgify_!" Celina flicked her wand, and the goop disappeared. All three girls ran fingers through their hair and examined the results.

"Brilliant! This stuff worked wonders, Celina!" Olivia exclaimed happily, running fingers through her silky, shiny hair that was no longer in braids.

Celina smiled back, combing through her mane of stunning silver hair.

"What was it supposed to do?" Lily asked quietly.

Celina cast her an odd glare.

"What? I don't see any difference…"

"Lily! It smoothes, silkens, straightens, and shines!" Celina recited, exasperatedly.

"Oh.. hehe.. Right."

Honestly, Lily didn't feel any difference whatsoever. But if Celina insisted, then maybe Lily's contacts needed to be changed.

333333333333333333333333333333333

As the sun passed from the sky, Lily endured many more hours of Celina's torturous beauty treatments. But thankfully, time passed not so slowly, and with a final flick of the wand, Celina stood back to admire her work.

"Free at last! Free at last!" Lily sang, throwing her arms up in the air, only to have them weighed down with a hand mirror. Lily sniffed and looked into it. "Ahh.. who… is that ME!"

"Of course! You look so pretty," Celina smiled.

Truly, Lily wouldn't have ever thought she could look this nice. Ever. Her eyes were lined a smoky gray, lashes extended and curled. A light blush glittered on her cheeks. Her lips were painted a glossy red to match her hair, which was pinned and curled in an elegant updo, with some strands falling down into tight curls around her face. Topping it all off was her new green dress robe, the one James had bought her.

Looking up, Lily found Celina finishing her makeup. Celina looked stunning in a midnight blue dress robe, her hair cascading down in silver sheets of silk which ended in soft curls. Her eyes were shaded a misty blue, and her lips a dark blue to match her dress. Lipstick that dark gave an icy chill to Lily's spine; it looked as if Celina were the essence of a frosty winter. But it worked for Celina, Lily supposed.

"Thanks, Celina," Lily managed to say. But she truly was grateful.

"Don't worry about it, Lily," Celina replied. "Let's go downstairs. I bet the boys are waiting, whining like a bunch of pansies.."

Lily shrugged and picked up a few of her things from the floor. Celina made such a mess, honestly. Did Lily need anything? Celina was taking a purse, but Lily felt she didn't need one, so she gathered herself to follow Celina out.

"See? Whining," Celina announced as the two found the boys doing exactly as Celina predicted. Sirius lay spread out on the couch, near the point of napping, and Peter was doing the same. James was playing with a loose Snitch, his free hand running through his hair anxiously. As soon as Celina laughed aloud, they all sat up instantly, trying to look as if they weren't bored at all, but rather extremely interested in a fruit bowl painting on the wall. They were at least dressed nicely; Sirius wore a dark gray robe, which made his hair look even darker, Peter wore an old-looking blue robe that was a bit wrinkly, and James wore a black one with a satin sheen to the fabric.

"Where's Lupin?" Lily asked curiously, noticing the missing 4th groupie.

The boys all exchanged glances at once. "He—er.. ahh.. His grandmum died!" James said quickly, then added a look of melancholy a second later.

"… I thought she died in September?" Lily wondered aloud. That made.. 3 dead grandmothers?

"No! Um… well, she was actually his great-aunt, but he was very close to her…" Sirius stated.

"Like a grandmother," Peter added.

"Yeah," James agreed.

Both of Celina's eyebrows went up, but she didn't say anything. Lily looked down at her hands quietly. Poor Remus…

While Sirius was busy talking to Celina for a moment, Lily found James blankly staring at her.

".. What?" Lily asked nervously. "Is something the matter?"

"Yeah… I mean—No!" James said loudly, rumpling his hair. He paused for a moment. "You look beautiful, Lily."

"Thanks, James. You too," Lily managed to get out, her face afire. "I mean.. not beautiful! Er.. you.. look nice," she finished, trailing off.

James laughed. "Thanks, Evans."

"Shall we go?" Celina interrupted.

"Wait!" Sirius exclaimed. "We wanted to conjure something for you ladies."

"Right. Celina, these are from Padfoot," James said, pulling out a large bouquet of odd white flowers from his sleeves.

"And my dear Lily, these are from Prongs," Sirius announced, pulling out a bouquet of white lilies that was twice the size of Celina's. "What? Prongs, you cheater!"

James grinned mischievously and avoided a punch from Sirius, both girls now holding their presents.

"What flower is that?" Lily asked around her huge bouquet.

"Moon flower," Celina replied, inhaling the fragrance. "We both got our namesakes." Celina means moon in Celtic, I think.. Maybe some other language.

"And where do we PUT our namesakes?" Lily's arms were getting tired.

"Just set them down and we'll be on our way," James said, offering Lily his arm, which she took slowly.

As they left the portrait hole, Lily remembered she left her wand up in the dormitories. But it was too late for that now; she would have to do without it, she supposed. Shrugging away a nagging feeling, Lily allowed James to pull her away.

55555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

"Wanna dance, Evans?" James asked suddenly, as soon as they arrived.

Red flag! Red flag! "D-dance?" Lily repeated, looking alarmed. Dancing? As in public? She opened her mouth to protest, saying that she couldn't dance for beans, and even if she would ever feel possessed to dance for beans, she'd die of starvation very quickly.

That bet she lost never included dancing as part of the price.

"It's a swift song; you'll do fine," James said into her ear. How come everyone could read Lily's mind so well? Maybe everyone secretly took those secret mind reading classes… secretly.

Lily felt herself being pulled onto the crowded dance floor. Well, this wasn't so bad.. No one paid attention to anyone else anyway, especially on a crowded floor.

James put his arm around Lily's waist, and took her hand. Remembering some old movie she'd seen, Lily put her free hand onto his shoulder. Yeah, just like the movies.

The song continued, and they began dancing; Lily's feet followed James's direction better than she thought, although she did misstep a couple times. All through which James smiled and chuckled slightly. But he never laughed at her as they whirled about amongst the others on the floor.

Suddenly, the couple dancing next to them bumped into Lily, knocking her forward onto James, her body pressed up against his. Then the music changed, slowed down into a languid waltz, its beat accompanied by a soft violin and flute harmonizing a melody.

Lily's face burned like a fire. They were standing so close together, as if time stopped and no one else was there. She didn't want the moment to end, but part of her mind kept screeching, telling her to move away; but her feet were frozen, her eyes fixed on James's in calm silence.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

"Evans, do you want something to drink?" James asked, ruffling his hair and grinning, as usual. He looked a little red-faced, probably from all that dancing.

"Sure," Lily replied, adjusting her hair and watching him walk off, leaving her with a chatty Sirius. Celina had removed herself to attend to her makeup in the washroom, and Sirius was left to find ways to entertain himself for the next quarter hour. And since Peter was lost amongst the crowd somewhere, Lily was his target.

"Look! I can dislocate my thumb and pop it out like this—"

"Yuck.." Lily muttered, not looking. Instead, her eyes wandered off to other areas far away. Where had James gone again?

She found his tall form weaving through peers to get to the refreshment table. He was stopped suddenly by a girl. Squinting, Lily realized it was Elaine Barker, wearing loads of makeup and looking better than she usually did. She was smiling all too pleasantly at James..

444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444

"Move, Barker," James said hastily, trying to get around her somehow, which wasn't working as well as he'd hoped.

"Why, James, you look wonderful!" she chimed, not hearing what he said. "Don't I look pretty too?"

James glared at her in annoyance. "No," he said sharply. "You're in my way, so move."

Elaine pouted, obviously trying not to get angry, but her face was reddening anyway. "Now, that's not very nice, is it?"

James grumbled. What a thick girl!

"Look! Mistletoe!" Elaine said quickly, then grabbed him by the front of his robes and jerked him towards her. Her lips planted themselves firmly on his.

James face wrinkled in disgust as he tried to push her away by her shoulders.

44444444444444444444444444444

Lily was watching. What was James doing… with Elaine! James was kissing Elaine, right in front of her!

Elaine's words a few days ago rang in Lily's mind. "_James will turn around… and when he does, you'll be a lonely little nobody again!"_

Lily's eyes blurred and her throat burned. She couldn't believe it.. All this time, James was just toying with her, and the rest of the girls in the school as well. She was just another victim of his game..

She got up to leave, first walking, then beginning to run. She bumped into someone; it was Professor Izumi, holding a glass of punch and dressed for the occasion. He had been keeping an eye on the students, as chaperoning was part of his job as a teacher.

"Lily, you look lovely," he said, smiling. But his smile faded as he noticed Lily's expression. "Is something the matter?"

Lily bit her trembling lip, saying nothing. She brushed past him without further eye contact, trying to hide her face.

Tears brimming her eyes and threatening to fall, Lily raced out of the hall, briskly pushing countless people out of the way with trembling hands. So James never liked her. He just wanted to use her and add her to his long list of ex-girlfriends, girls used and tried out, then thrown away like an old toy.

Greeted by a gust of cold winter air, she found herself outside on the school grounds in front of the school. The gust turned into an icy squall; Lily's tears fell from her eyes, leaving fleetingly warm trails on her cheeks. The wind grew louder and louder, and all of a sudden, it stopped, and the air stilled into silence.

She wiped her eyes on her sleeves, not caring if she ruined the robe. After all, that lying scumbag had bought it for her. Lily decided she would burn it. Thus she turned to go back inside, but a sound caught her attention, carrying itself through the night air.

Lily listened and tried to discern where it was coming from and what exactly it was.

"It's a song," Lily murmured. It was coming from far away, off to the side of the castle where Gryffindor tower would be.

The melody became lucid as she stepped near. It was a high pitched tune, a voice's lovely vibrato piercing the night with a wistful cry. Lily heard the words; it sounded like some sort of opera, in a language she couldn't understand; but the voice was the most beautiful she had ever heard.

"_Mesiku na nebi hlubokem_

_Svetlo tvé daleko vidi,_

_Po svete bloudis sirokém,_

_Divas se v pribytky lidi..."_

Mesmerized, she followed the song, trekking across frosty grass as she shivered. Who was singing? She was getting near to the source; the song had reached a high note, and it was held in a crescendo, trembling skillfully in the air.

Lily stopped in front of the strange willow tree. What was it called? The Whomping Willow? Shuddering, she peered at it carefully. It wasn't moving. It didn't seem like it would be anytime soon. Besides, what's the worse a tree could do? The only moving it was doing was a light sway in the breeze, its branches like limp fingers. She stepped closer to the tree. The voice was coming from inside! Was the tree singing..?

Swiftly, a branch moved, creaking. Looking up, Lily saw the branch come swinging at her at full speed. She yelped and dove out of the way. The bough pounded into the ground, leaving a deep imprint in the soft dirt and crushed grass.

Gasping for air, she crawled away from the tree. "Whomping… Willow.." she cursed herself for not knowing that much. "Eh?" The voice had stopped singing, and a deep grumbling was issuing from inside the tree.

Lily pushed her hair out of her eyes to make sure she was seeing properly. Was that a pair of yellow eyes staring at her from the base of the tree? There appeared to be a tunnel there, in between the roots, and in it was a dog-like creature.

It growled at her, and began to climb out, slowly; its form became clear in the moonlight.

The creature was an odd sort of dog or wolf, with a long muzzle and big pointed ears, but it was much bigger in size and less hairy. It walked on four legs, all long and thin like a starving monkey's, with paw-like feet. And sharp claws and teeth adorned the creature, which it was baring at Lily in a threatening manner.

It howled sharply, its tone lacking melancholy or happiness. It was a cry of a hunt.

Lily quietly reached into her pocket for her wand, fumbling dazedly.

She had left it back in her room! That mistake left her as exposed as a chicken in a tiger's cage.

Scared beyond her wits, Lily sprinted away, to anywhere but there. She hadn't thought that it would come after her. Which is exactly what it was doing, teeth still bared and tongue dripping saliva around its snout as it ran after her, stumbling in clumsiness. Lily sure hoped it was clumsiness, and not abounding hunger.

It was gaining on her. She could hear its panting.

She needed some sort of cover.. Panic stricken, she dove into the one place she would never have stepped foot into if she were in her right mind. That's right, kids. The Forbidden Forest.

Momentum carried the creature past where Lily took the sharp turn, and it bought her some time to duck and weave through the forest growth. She hid behind a very large tree, for maneuvering purposes. If it found her again, she could easily run away without getting caught in nasty bushes or something.

A twig snapped nearby. Lily almost gasped out loud, but managed not to by some stroke of luck, and peered over in that direction. Nothing. Not a single thing stood out among the dense woods.

"Must've been my imagination," Lily thought, looking around her. It was gone. For now, at least.

She had to get back to the castle! She would get back to safety, and inform the Headmaster that a bloodthirsty creature was roaming the school grounds.

Just as she turned to head out, she faced a dark figure cloaked in black, its back turned to her. Lily stood watching it for a moment, before it swiftly turned around. Its face was hidden as well. The gleaming rifle it was holding in its gloved hands was not.

She ran away again before it could decide what to do first, leaving it standing there in her wake. A gun! What was that… thing.. doing with a gun?

Out of breath, she now stood a good distance from the Forest.

"Where am I now?" Lily panted, looking at the castle. "I'm somewhere back where I started! Which means that wolf thing is going to come back…"

An angry snarl sounded from behind her. Lily screamed, and then gathered the sense to duck as it leapt at her. She leapt up again and made a mad dash for the school entrance. Safety. She had to get to safety.

Her legs were aching from the exercise, her lungs were burning for air, and her heart pounded in her ears. Blinded with panic, she didn't see the dark patch in front of her. She found herself facedown in the grass.

A hole. A stupid hole in the ground from some mole or something had caught her foot. And now she was eating dirt. That thing would be eating HER now.

Terrified, she turned to face the growling visage behind her. Its cold yellow eyes pierced the night, looking weary and starved. It hunched, and leapt forward to tear apart its prey.

Screaming, Lily shielded her face with her arms, hoping beyond all hope it didn't like to eat tender little girls.

She heard an impact, but felt none. Looking up, she saw a large form crashing into the wolf, using its hooves and great horned head to keep the monster at bay from her.

It was that stag! The same one from Halloween!

The monster snarled as it recoiled, the stag stomping its hooves on the ground threateningly. It seemed as if the wolf didn't want to retreat, but rather enjoy the nice snack that lay in a heap just beyond its adversary. Leaping at the stag, it extended clawed paws and opened its great jaws.

The stag skipped aside, and caught its exposed side with a swift collision of the horns, pushing it away.

Lily watched in astonishment, not moving. Was the stag fighting for its own benefit? Or was it protecting her, something all too human..?

There was a sharp bark, and a smaller, dark creature joined the stag. It was a shaggy black dog, baring gleaming white teeth at the wolf, standing in alliance with the great stag. It barked again and again, vicious and menacing, daring the wolf to come closer.

The creature backed away slowly. Two opponents would be too much to fight. It was weary and bruised, looking disappointedly at Lily.

The stag stepped closer to it, and the wolf backed away farther, but it wouldn't leave. It sat down and began nursing a couple wounds, eyeing the stag apprehensively.

Meanwhile, the dog turned around to face Lily, lowering its ears in a peaceful composure as it trotted over. Lily recoiled from it momentarily, but seeing as it meant no harm, her gaze flicked back to the wolf creature sitting beyond the stag's glare.

The black dog prodded her with its nose, then began licking her hands as if to comfort her and lead her away, back to safety.

Lily's vision darkened. No, the sky darkened. A cluster of clouds passed in front of the moon, obstructing the light cast on the Earth. Lily could hardly see now; the light of unblocked stars was hardly enough to watch the strange creature before her cringe in agony.

It whined and moaned, hiding its face in the grass, twisting and writhing. It howled softly, again and again, each cry louder than the last one to tear itself from its throat.

Finally, a long wail from it seared the night sky. The rest after were muffled whimpers.

"Lily!" came a familiar voice.

She turned her head to find two of her professors—Caliban and Izumi. Caliban looked as if she had seen better days, as Izumi was supporting her from one side. A few long tears ran down the side of her emerald green robe, and dark crimson blood had seeped through.

"What are you doing out here!" Izumi exclaimed. "More importantly, what is the local zoo doing here?"

The black dog wagged its tail, trying to look inconspicuous.

"I.. er.." Lily mumbled, getting up slowly. "What's going on?"

"Pest control," Caliban said irritably. "Just… get inside."

"But you're—"

"James," Caliban muttered, "please see to it that Lily is sent to bed early."

"I can't leave you out here alone like this," Izumi reasoned.

Caliban winced, and stiffly extracted her wand from her robes, saying nothing.

"You go to the Hospital Wing with Lily, and I'll take care of it."

"You can't. We both know that. Only I'm---" She stopped, gripping her side and standing up by herself. She looked up at the sky, blinking back tears of pain. "Go before it's too late. I'll be fine, unless a manticore finds me. Then I'll call."

"Come, Lily, this is no place for sightseeing," Izumi announced, scooping her up in his strong arms.

"But Professor Caliban---"

"… is very stubborn. I know," Izumi shook his head. "Are your pets coming?"

"My pets?" Lily asked dazedly. His body warmth was welcome after sitting in shock in icy grass and cold air. "No, they're not my pets." Lily peered behind Izumi. Everyone was gone. The dog, the wolf, Caliban.. but the stag stood there, watching her.

The sky cleared and moonlight bathed the ground again, illuminating the stag in silver. A sharp howl rang out again, this time from far away.

The stag eyed Lily, and then snorted a gust of misty warm air before running off out of her line of vision and into the Yule night.

-----

Lily shivered as a bath of warm air surrounded her. Izumi put her down on the stone floor of the castle.

"Professor, what was that monster?" Lily ventured to ask. Usually, creatures that dangerous knew better than to stay away from the school grounds. No one knew how, but they did.

Izumi cast her a soft glance and remained quiet for a moment. "Just that. A monster," he said carefully. "Don't worry. We'll make sure it doesn't come back."

Lily bit her lip, her heart thumping steadily against her chest. Wondering what exactly was going on at the school, she cast a quizzical look at Izumi.

"Come," he said quietly, taking Lily's hand. She followed him silently all the way to the hospital wing, and soon found herself in a bed, Madam Pomfrey buzzing over her in a quick examination.

Izumi whispered something in Pomfrey's ear, and soon she conjured up a small cup.

"Drink this," she said, handing Lily the cup and going away to change some sheets or something equally important.

"But I'm not sick," Lily protested, wincing at the smell of the liquid inside. "I'm fine."

"It's a sleeping draught," Izumi said, forcing the potion to her lips. "Come tomorrow morning, you'll think this is all a dream."

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Sorry for the number partitions. You know how it is..


End file.
